Analysis of the complete mitochondrial genomes of two forensically important blowfly species: Lucilia caeasar and Lucilia illustris

Schoofs, Kathleen, Ahmadzai, Urszula Krzeminska and Goodwin, William H orcid iconORCID: 0000-0002-3632-3552 (2018) Analysis of the complete mitochondrial genomes of two forensically important blowfly species: Lucilia caeasar and Lucilia illustris. Mitochondrial DNA Part B, 3 (2). pp. 1114-1116.

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2018.1457991

Abstract

Blowfly species of the family Calliphoridae can be used in forensic investigations to estimate the minimum post-mortem interval (PMI¬min). Lucilia caesar and Lucilia illustris (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are closely related and phenotypically similar, making reliable identification difficult, especially if specimens are in poor condition. To identify potential markers to genetically distinguish these species five complete mitochondrial genomes were sequenced: three for L. caesar (KM657111- KM657113) and two mitochondrial genomes for L. illustris (KM657109, KM 657110). The ND6 gene contained the most species-specific SNPs (1.71%), followed by the ND5 gene (1.68%) and then the COI gene (1.56%), identifying ND6 and ND5 as valuable loci for differentiating L. Caesar and L. illustris specimens.


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