Mitochondrial DNA-Based Identification of Forensically Important Flesh Flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) in Thailand

Abstract

Flesh flies (Sarcophagidae) are necrophagous insects initially colonizing on a corpse. The species-specific developmental data of the flies collected from a death scene can be used to estimate the minimum postmortem interval (PMImin). Thus, the first crucial step is to correctly identify the fly species. Because of the high similarity among species of flesh flies, DNA-based identification is considered more favorable than morphology-based identification. In this study, we demonstrated the effectiveness of combined sequences (2216 to 2218 bp) of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and II genes (COI and COII) for identification of the following 14 forensically important flesh fly species in Thailand: Boettcherisca nathani Lopes, Fengia ostindicae (Senior-White), Harpagophalla kempi (Senior-White), Liopygia ruficornis (Fabricius), Lioproctia pattoni (Senior-White), Lioproctia saprianovae (Pape & Bänziger), Parasarcophaga albiceps (Meigen), Parasarcophaga brevicornis (Ho), Parasarcophaga dux (Thomson), Parasarcophaga misera (Walker), Sarcorohdendorfia antilope (Böttcher), Sarcorohdendorfia inextricata (Walker), Sarcorohdendorfia seniorwhitei (Ho) and Seniorwhitea princeps (Wiedemann). Nucleotide variations of Thai flesh flies were evenly distributed throughout the COI-COII genes. Mean intra- and interspecific variations ranged from 0.00 to 0.96% and 5.22% to 12.31%, respectively. Using Best Match (BM) and Best Close Match (BCM) criteria, identification success for the combined genes was 100%, while the All Species Barcodes (ASB) criterion showed 76.74% success. Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) phylogenetic analyses yielded similar tree topologies of monophyletic clades between species with very strong support values. The achieved sequences covering 14 forensically important flesh fly species including newly submitted sequences for B. nathani, F. ostindicae and S. seniorwhitei, can serve as a reliable reference database for further forensic entomological research in Thailand and in other areas where those species occur.

Flesh fly (Diptera: Sarcophagidae): male terminalia, diversity and expanded geographical distribution from India

“…This variety of feeding methods can have a direct impact on their capacity as pathogenic vectors and the larvae of some species cause myiasis in humans as well as in different animals (Dodge 1955;Zumpt 1965;Greenberg 1973, Crump & Pounds 1985Guimaraes & Papavero 1999;19832 J TT Hagman et al 2005;Stevens et al 2006;Bermudez et al 2010;Mello-Patiu & Luna-Dias 2010;Kelehear et al 2020). Whereas sarcophagid flies are associated with decomposing carcasses and human bodies (Cherix et al 2012;Vasconcelos et al 2014;Al-Khalifa et al 2020), the study of larval and pupal developments found in carcasses improves their effectiveness as useful insects in forensic science investigations (Pape 1996;Wells et al 2001;Sinha & Mahato 2016;Ren et al 2018;Samerjai et al 2020). Nandi (1990) documented nine species of flesh flies from different parts of Kerala and reported Parasarcophaga (Liosarcophaga) dux (Thomson) for the first time from Kerala.…”

Biological aspects and Molecular Identification of Forensically Relevant Blow Flies under Seasonal Temperature and Humidity Variations in Egypt

“…There have been many investigations that have been published that use DNA-based identi cation of some forensically signi cant blow y specimens to get around these morphological identi cation issues [17][18][19][20][21] . Since mitochondrial DNA is more prevalent in tissues than nuclear DNA and is therefore easier to extract from even small amounts of sample, it is currently preferred for application in the eld of forensics 14,19,21,22 . The cytochrome oxidase I (CO1) gene is thought to be the best of all the genes found in mitochondrial DNA to utilize as appropriate molecular markers since reports of a comparatively high level of genetic diversity in this region make it ideal for phylogeny tracing 17,19,[22][23][24] .…”

Effect of constant and fluctuating temperature on the intrapuparial development of Sarcophaga argyrostoma (Robineau‐Desvoidy, 1830; Diptera: Sarcophagidae)

“…As necrophage organisms, sarcophagids contribute to the food chain and possess both medical and forensic importance (Stamper et al, 2013). Since they initially colonize on a corpse, the species‐specific development data of the flies collected from a death scene can be used to estimate PMImin (Samerjai et al, 2019). Some sarcophagids can harm humans and animals through myiasis (Zumpt, 1965), which is defined as the invasion of living tissue by insects (Gennard, 2012).…”