Using COI barcodes to identify forensically and medically important blowflies

Abstract

. The utility of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) DNA barcodes for the identification of nine species of forensically important blowflies of the genus Chrysomya (Diptera: Calliphoridae), from Australia, was tested. A 658-bp fragment of the COI gene was sequenced from 56 specimens, representing all nine Chrysomya species and three calliphorid outgroups. Nucleotide sequence divergences were calculated using the Kimuratwo-parameter distance model and a neighbour-joining (NJ) analysis was performed to provide a graphic display of the patterns of divergence among the species. All species were resolved as reciprocally monophyletic on the NJ tree. Mean intraspecific and interspecific sequence divergences were 0.097% (range 0 -0.612%, standard error [SE] = 0.119%) and 6.499% (range 0.458 -9.254%, SE = 1.864%), respectively. In one case, a specimen that was identified morphologically was recovered with its sister species on the NJ tree. The hybrid status of this specimen was established by sequence analysis of the second ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS2). In another instance, this nuclear region was used to verify four cases of specimen misidentification that had been highlighted by the COI analysis. The COI barcode sequence was found to be suitable for the identification of Chrysomya species from the east coast of Australia.

Records of Chrysomya albiceps in Northern Italy: an ecological and forensic perspective

“…The dispersion of this species towards the Northern regions as well as its demographic explosion are correlated to the climate change, as has been demonstrated for several species of insects, vertebrates and plants (Turchetto & Vanin 2004a, Maistrello et al 2006, Parmesan 2006. Neither the studies of the dipterological collections of A partial sequence (583 bp) of the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 gene (COI) (EU503116) was obtained from larvae collected in the city of Chioggia by PCR as reported in Nelson et al (2007). The sequences were used to confirm the morphological identification of the larvae.…”

Novel DNA extraction assay for molecular identification of Aedes spp eggs

“…Aedes spp are found mainly in urban areas, and they develop primarily in clean water reservoirs and small temporary pools (Nelson, 1986). Generally, it is necessary to use taxonomic keys that describe morphological characteristics of certain phases of the animal's life, especially the larval or adult phases, for the identification of the mosquitoes (Guedes, 2006).…”

DNA barcoding for identification of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan

“…is method has been shown to be e ective for the identi cation of a range of taxa including gastropods (Remigo and Hebert, 2003), springtails (Hogg and Hebert, 2004), butter ies (Hebert et al, 2004a), birds (Hebert et al, 2004b), may ies (Ball et al, 2005), sh (Ward et al, 2005), esh ies (Tan et al, 2010) and blow ies (Nelson et al, 2007;Tan et al, 2009).…”