Journal of Forensic Research

Genetic Identification of Necrophagous Insect Species (Diptera) of Forensic Importance Sampled from Swine Carcasses in Mato Grosso, Midwestern Brazil

Abstract

Elisangela Santana de Oliveira Dantas, Diniz Pereira Leite Junior, Junio Damasceno de Souza, Reginaldo Rossi do Carmo, Flavia Galindo Silvestre Silva and Patricia Pasquali Parisi Maltempi

Forensic entomology is the science that uses insects found on bodies to set the Post Mortem Interval (PMI) among other investigations. The present work used DNA barcode based on the use of a standardized fragment of Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit I (COI). We undertook analysis of the taxa associated with carcasses, representing 15 dipterans species. Carcasses of pigs during the decomposition process were used, using a cutoff value of 3% for intra-and interspecific differentiation proves efficient for the dipteran of forensic interest. Species identification is more accurate in well studied and reviewed groups. It was observed that specific taxonomic groups were well separated. In the larger group a molecular study, including other mitochondrial genes and nuclear genes is necessary. The greater differentiation in Lucilia eximia probably requires review studies of the group.