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Background   Hirudinaria manillensis  is an ephemeral, blood-sucking ectoparasite, possessing anticoagulant capacities with potential medical applications. Analysis of codon usage patterns would contribute to our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms and genetic architecture of  H. manillensis , which in turn would provide insight into the characteristics of other leeches. We analysed codon usage and related indices using 18,000 coding sequences (CDSs) retrieved from  H. manillensis  RNA-Seq data.    Results  We identified four highly preferred codons in  H. manillensis  that have G/C-endings. Points generated in an effective number of codons (ENC) plot distributed below the standard curve and the slope of a neutrality plot was less than 1. Highly expressed CDSs had lower ENC content and higher GC content than weakly expressed CDSs. Principal component analysis conducted on relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) values divided CDSs according to GC content and divided codons according to ending bases. Moreover, by determining codon usage, we found that the majority of blood-diet related genes have undergone less adaptive evolution in  H. manillensis , except for those with homologous sequences in the host species.    Conclusions  Codon usage in  H. manillensis  had an overall preference toward C-endings and indicated that codon usage patterns are mediated by differential expression, GC content, and biological function. Although mutation pressure effects were also notable, the majority of genetic evolution in  H. manillensis  was driven by natural selection.    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-018-4937-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Analysis of codon usage patterns in Hirudinaria manillensis reveals a preference for GC-ending codons caused by dominant selection constraints