Species abundance and identification of forensically important flies of Saudi Arabia by DNA barcoding.
, Ashraf Mashaly, Reem Alajmi, Abd El-Zaher Mustafa, Ahmed Rady and Hussein Alkhedir . 2017
Because they may demonstrate characteristics of the environment where a body has been laying prior to the
discovery, flies are insects of forensic interest. We investigated the fly abundance and the effect of location in
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on fly species diversity that attack decomposing human and animal remains. Using
baited traps deployed in each location, we collected 3,697 flies of seven species belonging to three families.
Chrysomya albiceps Wiedmann represented 60.86% of the collected flies, whereas Musca domestica L. represented
25.8%; the other species made up<6% each. To facilitate species identification by DNA barcoding, we
sequenced a 710-bp “Folmer region” of cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene for 22 samples from collection sites distributed through entire Saudi Arabia. The COI sequences from Musca albina Wiedmann, Musca
lucidula Loew, Musca calleva Walker, Musca sorbens Wiedmann, and Physiphora alceae Preyssler were obtained
for the first time. This primary study indicates that even when Folmer primers were widely used in DNA
barcoding, the Folmer’s region is not adequate when discriminating between Musca species, and sequencing
the whole COI or other genes is required for forensic purpose.
This study describes for the first time the necrophagous Diptera attracted to rabbit carcasses in three distinct
habitats in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). A mean number of 1,427…
Because they may demonstrate characteristics of the environment where a body has been laying prior to the
discovery, flies are insects of forensic interest. We investigated the fly abundance…
Objective: This study was designed to characterize the DNA polymorphisms of the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene in indigenous Saudi Arabian sheep breeds exhibiting different color coats,…