Blow flies are among the most important insects in forensic entomology casework. Identification of blow fly species can be a time consuming and difficult task, especially at their early development stages. Present DNA-based technologies provide a promising identification method for these forensically important calliphorids. The cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence has been applied as a suitable DNA marker in calliphorid identification for many years; however, limitation exists in using short sequence to determine genetically close species. In this study, COI long sequences were utilized in species-level identification. Seventy-two specimens were collected from 27 locations across 22 Chinese provinces, and unambiguously determined as 16 species under seven genera of Calliphoridae. Analysis of long mitochondrial COI sequence (1,021–1,382 bp) data from forensically relevant blow flies collected in the inland region of China provided a reliable marker for accurate identification. Our data provide genetic diversity and reference for global forensic-related blow fly species identification, and conductive meaning on future utilization of Chinese calliphorids used in forensic entomological practice.
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23 May 2017
Identification of Forensically Important Blow Flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in China Based on COI
Fanming Meng,
Lipin Ren,
Ziyue Wang,
Jianqiang Deng,
Yadong Guo,
Chao Chen,
Dmitrijs Finkelbergs,
Jifeng Cai
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Journal of Medical Entomology
Vol. 54 • No. 5
September 2017
Vol. 54 • No. 5
September 2017
Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I (COI)
forensic entomology
long marker
species identification