The hidden biodiversity of the blowfly Chrysomya megacephala revealed by the Cytochrome b gene

Abstract

Insects or arthropods collected from a human deceased during crime scene investigation often revealed information related to the body of the deceased or the crime scene. Morphologically identical immature larvae or maggots have been identified using DNA identification methods. However, a big challenge to the DNA identification method is the presence of morphologically identical but genetically distinct taxa. The genetic diversity of Chrysomya megacephala flies from Malaysia will be revealed in this study. A total of 74 Chrysomya megacephala from Peninsular Malaysia were subjected to phylogenetic and haplotype analyses based on the Cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene. Chrysomya megacephala from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor are more diverse genetically compared to those from Perak, Johor and Pahang. The Cyt b gene revealed three distinct genetic clades of Chrysomya megacephala, one clade is for populations from Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, whereas the other two clades consisted of specimens from all five studied populations that is Perak, Pahang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Johor. Detection of hidden lineages of Chrysomya megacephala based on the Cyt b gene may offer some clues for forensic entomological investigation in the country.