Journal of Entomological Research

SCOPUSWeb of Science
  • Year: 2016
  • Volume: 40
  • Issue: 2

Cytochrome Oxidase I gene based identification of forensically important species of Indian flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae)

1Vector Management Division, Defense R&D Establishment (DRDE), DRDO, Gwalior-474 002, Madhya Pradesh, India

Department of Zoology & Environmental Sciences, Punjabi University, Patiala-147 002, Punjab, India

*Corresponding author's E-mail: devinder.ss.61@gmail.com

Online published on 6 July, 2016.

Abstract

Fauna found in and around the corpse is very crucial for the estimation of post mortem interval (PMI) i.e., the time elapsed since death. The collected fauna can be identified morphological by using various keys but problem arise when insects are morphologically similar or the body is broken or fragmented making it difficult for the taxonomists to identify the fauna. Amplification of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene is often tried as identification method. The use of 465 bp fragment of COI gene for differentiation of three forensically significant species of flesh flies in India has been illustrated.

Keywords

COI, forensic entomology, mitochondrial DNA, PMI, species identification