TY - JOUR
T1 - Review of Molecular Identification Techniques for Forensically Important Diptera
AU - Gemmellaro, M. Denise
AU - Hamilton, George C.
AU - Ware, Jessica L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].
PY - 2019/7/1
Y1 - 2019/7/1
N2 - The medico-legal section of forensic entomology focuses on the analysis of insects associated with a corpse. Such insects are identified, and their life history characteristics are evaluated to provide information related to the corpse, such as postmortem interval and time of colonization. Forensically important insects are commonly identified using dichotomous keys, which rely on morphological characteristics. Morphological identifications can pose a challenge as local keys are not always available and can be difficult to use, especially when identifying juvenile stages. If a specimen is damaged, certain keys cannot be used for identification. In contrast, molecular identification can be a better instrument to identify forensically important insects, regardless of life stage or specimen completeness. Despite more than 20 yr since the first use of molecular data for the identification of forensic insects, there is little overlap in gene selection or phylogenetic methodology among studies, and this inconsistency reduces efficiency. Several methods such as genetic distance, reciprocal monophyly, or character-based methods have been implemented in forensic identification studies. It can be difficult to compare the results of studies that employ these different methods. Here we present a comprehensive review of the published results for the molecular identification of Diptera of forensic interest, with an emphasis on evaluating variation among studies in gene selection and phylogenetic methodology.
AB - The medico-legal section of forensic entomology focuses on the analysis of insects associated with a corpse. Such insects are identified, and their life history characteristics are evaluated to provide information related to the corpse, such as postmortem interval and time of colonization. Forensically important insects are commonly identified using dichotomous keys, which rely on morphological characteristics. Morphological identifications can pose a challenge as local keys are not always available and can be difficult to use, especially when identifying juvenile stages. If a specimen is damaged, certain keys cannot be used for identification. In contrast, molecular identification can be a better instrument to identify forensically important insects, regardless of life stage or specimen completeness. Despite more than 20 yr since the first use of molecular data for the identification of forensic insects, there is little overlap in gene selection or phylogenetic methodology among studies, and this inconsistency reduces efficiency. Several methods such as genetic distance, reciprocal monophyly, or character-based methods have been implemented in forensic identification studies. It can be difficult to compare the results of studies that employ these different methods. Here we present a comprehensive review of the published results for the molecular identification of Diptera of forensic interest, with an emphasis on evaluating variation among studies in gene selection and phylogenetic methodology.
KW - barcoding
KW - Calliphoridae
KW - forensic entomology
KW - forensically important diptera
KW - molecular identification
KW - Sarcophagidae
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85068887684&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/jme/tjz040
DO - 10.1093/jme/tjz040
M3 - Article
C2 - 31173634
AN - SCOPUS:85068887684
SN - 0022-2585
VL - 56
SP - 887
EP - 902
JO - Journal of Medical Entomology
JF - Journal of Medical Entomology
IS - 4
ER -