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. 2019 Dec 18;11(1):2.
doi: 10.3390/insects11010002.

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

Chutharat Samerjai  1   2   3 , Kabkaew L Sukontason  1 , Narin Sontigun  1 , Kom Sukontason  1 , Tunwadee Klong-Klaew  3 , Theeraphap Chareonviriyaphap  4 , Hiromu Kurahashi  5 , Sven Klimpel  6 , Judith Kochmann  6 , Atiporn Saeung  1 , Pradya Somboon  1 , Anchalee Wannasan  1
Affiliations

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

Chutharat Samerjai et al. Insects. .

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.

Keywords: COI; COII; Thailand; flesh flies; forensic entomology; molecular identification.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of Thailand showing the flesh fly species collected in 7 provinces.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Maximum likelihood tree based on the combined COI-COII sequences of 14 Thai sarcophagid species. Species name, voucher code, and accession number are given in the specimen label. Bootstrap values are shown at each node. M domestica was taken as the outgroup. Evolutionary distance divergence scale bar is 0.01.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Bayesian inference tree based on the combined COI-COII sequences of 14 Thai sarcophagid species. Posterior probabilities are shown at each node. Species name, voucher code, and accession number are given in the specimen label. M. domestica was taken as the outgroup.
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