Species identification of Middle Eastern blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) of forensic importance

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Abstract

The lack of reliable tools for species identification of necrophagous blowflies of the Middle East is a serious obstacle to the development of forensic entomology in the majority of countries of this region. Adding to the complexity of diagnosing the regional fauna is that species representing three different zoogeographical elements exist in sympatry. In response to this situation, a high-quality key to the adults of all species of forensically relevant blowflies of the Middle East has been prepared. Thanks to the modern technique of image-stack stereomicroscopy and high-quality entomological materials, this new key can be easily applied by investigators inexperienced in the taxonomy of blowflies. The major technical problems relating to the species identification of necrophagous blowflies of the Middle East are also discussed.

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Most cited references 39

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Beyond barcoding: a mitochondrial genomics approach to molecular phylogenetics and diagnostics of blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

Andrew Nelson, Christine Lambkin, James Wallman … (2012)

Members of the Calliphoridae (blowflies) are significant for medical and veterinary management, due to the ability of some species to consume living flesh as larvae, and for forensic investigations due to the ability of others to develop in corpses. Due to the difficulty of accurately identifying larval blowflies to species there is a need for DNA-based diagnostics for this family, however the widely used DNA-barcoding marker, cox1, has been shown to fail for several groups within this family. Additionally, many phylogenetic relationships within the Calliphoridae are still unresolved, particularly deeper level relationships. Sequencing whole mt genomes has been demonstrated both as an effective method for identifying the most informative diagnostic markers and for resolving phylogenetic relationships. Twenty-seven complete, or nearly so, mt genomes were sequenced representing 13 species, seven genera and four calliphorid subfamilies and a member of the related family Tachinidae. PCR and sequencing primers developed for sequencing one calliphorid species could be reused to sequence related species within the same superfamily with success rates ranging from 61% to 100%, demonstrating the speed and efficiency with which an mt genome dataset can be assembled. Comparison of molecular divergences for each of the 13 protein-coding genes and 2 ribosomal RNA genes, at a range of taxonomic scales identified novel targets for developing as diagnostic markers which were 117-200% more variable than the markers which have been used previously in calliphorids. Phylogenetic analysis of whole mt genome sequences resulted in much stronger support for family and subfamily-level relationships. The Calliphoridae are polyphyletic, with the Polleninae more closely related to the Tachinidae, and the Sarcophagidae are the sister group of the remaining calliphorids. Within the Calliphoridae, there was strong support for the monophyly of the Chrysomyinae and Luciliinae and for the sister-grouping of Luciliinae with Calliphorinae. Relationships within Chrysomya were not well resolved. Whole mt genome data, supported the previously demonstrated paraphyly of Lucilia cuprina with respect to L. sericata and allowed us to conclude that it is due to hybrid introgression prior to the last common ancestor of modern sericata populations, rather than due to recent hybridisation, nuclear pseudogenes or incomplete lineage sorting. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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A roadmap for bridging basic and applied research in forensic entomology.

J Tomberlin, Andrew Mohr, M Benbow … (2011)

The National Research Council issued a report in 2009 that heavily criticized the forensic sciences. The report made several recommendations that if addressed would allow the forensic sciences to develop a stronger scientific foundation. We suggest a roadmap for decomposition ecology and forensic entomology hinging on a framework built on basic research concepts in ecology, evolution, and genetics. Unifying both basic and applied research fields under a common umbrella of terminology and structure would facilitate communication in the field and the production of scientific results. It would also help to identify novel research areas leading to a better understanding of principal underpinnings governing ecosystem structure, function, and evolution while increasing the accuracy of and ability to interpret entomological evidence collected from crime scenes. By following the proposed roadmap, a bridge can be built between basic and applied decomposition ecology research, culminating in science that could withstand the rigors of emerging legal and cultural expectations.

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Molecular phylogenetics of Oestroidea (Diptera: Calyptratae) with emphasis on Calliphoridae: insights into the inter-familial relationships and additional evidence for paraphyly among blowflies.

M.A.T. Marinho, A.C.M. Junqueira, D.F. Paulo … (2012)

The superfamily Oestroidea, comprising ∼15,000 species, is a large and ecologically diverse clade within the order Diptera. Among its six commonly recognized families, Calliphoridae seems to be crucial for understanding evolutionary relationships in the group, as it is recognized as a controversial paraphyletic grouping. To further investigate this matter, the ITS2, 28S, COI and 16S regions were used to infer phylogenetic relationships in Oestroidea with maximum-parsimony (MP), maximum-likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods. For the BI analyses, a deep evaluation of different data partitioning strategies was conducted, including consideration of structural conformation (ITS2 and 16S) and codon position (COI) information. Results suggest the existence of two main clades in Oestroidea: (Tachinidae+Mesembrinellinae) and (Rhiniinae, (Sarcophagidae+Calliphoridae sensu stricto)). Oestridae was recovered as sister group of the remaining Oestroidea in the MP trees while it was placed closer to the (Rhiniinae+Sarcophagidae+Calliphoridae sensu stricto) group in the ML and BI trees. A paraphyletic Calliphoridae was recovered, confirming the exclusion of Rhiniinae, a clade recently promoted to family status and therefore already excluded. Mesembrinellinae could also be considered a distinct group apart from Calliphoridae, although further studies are required. Consideration of structural and codon position information led to a significant increase in the log-likelihoods of the analyses, which were accompanied by small changes in the inferred topologies, branch lengths and posterior probability support values. However, as model complexity increases, so does uncertainty across the estimated parameters, including tree topologies, and phylogenies inferred under very parameter-rich models may be less reliable even when possessing higher log-likelihoods. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Kamran Akbarzadeh: kakbarzadeh@tums.ac.ir

James F. Wallman: jwallman@uow.edu.au

Hana Sulakova: sulakova.hana@gmail.com

Krzysztof Szpila: szpila@umk.pl

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Parasitol Res

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Parasitol. Res

Title: Parasitology Research

Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg (Berlin/Heidelberg )

ISSN (Print): 0932-0113

ISSN (Electronic): 1432-1955

Publication date (Electronic): 15 February 2015

Publication date PMC-release: 15 February 2015

Publication date (Print): 2015

Volume: 114

Issue: 4

Pages: 1463-1472

Affiliations

[ ]Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 14155/6446, Tehran, Iran

[ ]School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522 Australia

[ ]Institute of Criminalistics Prague, P.O. Box 62/KUP, Strojnicka 27, CZ-170 89 Prague 7, Czech Republic

[ ]Chair of Ecology and Biogeography, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń, Poland

Article

Publisher ID: 4329

DOI: 10.1007/s00436-015-4329-y

PMC ID: 4365180

PubMed ID: 25682434

SO-VID: a216709e-c4ac-4a55-8841-5cb16027e0bb

License:

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.

History

Date received : 22 December 2014

Date accepted : 19 January 2015

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Parasitology

Keywords: calliphoridae,species identification,middle east,forensic entomology

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Parasitology

Keywords: calliphoridae, species identification, middle east, forensic entomology

Species identification of Middle Eastern blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) of forensic importance

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Abstract

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Most cited references 39

Beyond barcoding: a mitochondrial genomics approach to molecular phylogenetics and diagnostics of blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

A roadmap for bridging basic and applied research in forensic entomology.

Molecular phylogenetics of Oestroidea (Diptera: Calyptratae) with emphasis on Calliphoridae: insights into the inter-familial relationships and additional evidence for paraphyly among blowflies.

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