Molecular identification of a forensically relevant blowfly species (Diptera: Calliphoridae) from the Nagpur region of Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are widely distributed in many parts of the world. These flies have forensic importance, as they infest carrion soon after death; this helps not only to estimate the post-mortem interval, but also other forensic interpretations. However, the forensic value of most entomofauna found at crime scenes is dependent on accurate species identification. Traditional identification of blowflies is based on morphology, but this has limitations when it comes to identifying degraded or damaged samples, or immature stages of the flies. To increase the accuracy of species identification, DNA-based technologies have been applied. Molecular identification, using the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase I gene coupled with its phylogenetic analysis, has demonstrated the potential for rapid and accurate identification of Calliphoridae species. The present study used this process of molecular identification to identify blowflies collected from the Nagpur region (Maharashtra, India). Five flies belonging to two species (Chrysoma megacephala and Chrysomya rufifacies) have been identified by mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase I gene sequences, and have been added to GenBank [Accession nos: -(MT502110, MT502109 Chrysomya megacephala) (MT502108, MT502111 -Chrysomya rufifacies) to aid researchers in the correct identification of blowfly species for future research or forensic applications.

Successional pattern of necrophagous diptera on a dead Asiatic jackal’s (Canis aureus Linnaeus, 1758) body in Veerangana durgawati Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh, India

“…Meanwhile, the immature stages i.e., larva were collected from the carcass and sacrificed in boiled water (Table 1). Finally they were preserved in 70% high-grade ethanol and taxonomically identified using taxonomic keys (Sukontason et al, 2004;Silva et al, 2012;Jordaens et al, 2013;Ren et al, 2018;Sawaby et al, 2018;Shinde et al, 2021).…”

“…families, are well-known as forensically significant flies (Anderson and VanLaerhoven, 1996;Villet, 2010;Sharif and Qamar, 2021;Kar et al, 2022;Palavesam et al, 2022). In India, there are limited reports on the occurrence of insects of forensic interest (Singh and Bharti, 2000;Bharti et al, 2001;Nandi, 2002;Bharti and Singh, 2003;Ramaraj et al, 2014;Bharti and Singh, 2017;Chakraborty et al, 2017;Hore et al, 2017;Bhattacherjee et al, 2021;Sharif and Qamar, 2021;Shinde et al, 2021;Babu et al, 2022;Kar et al, 2022;Palavesam et al, 2022).…”