Extraction, polymerase chain reaction, and sequencing of a 440 base pair region of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene from two species of acetone-preserved damselflies (Odonata: Coenagrionidae, Agrionidae)

Abstract

Preserved insects are an important data source for many molecular systematics projects. This study investigates the use of acetone-preserved specimens in molecular DNA research. Two species of damselflies, Enallagma civile (Hagen) and Hetaerina americana (F.), were soaked in acetone before drying. Total genomic DNA was successfully extracted, amplified, and sequenced from the acetone-preserved damselflies with no noticeable effect from either the acetone or preservation time. Nucleotide sequences of a 440 bp region of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene are presented for E. civile and H. americana. These 2 species have reached a saturated divergence level and it seems that the COI gene will not be useful for developing phylogenies at this taxonomic level.