Identification of the forensically important beetles Nicrophorus japonicus, Ptomascopus plagiatus and Silpha carinata (Coleoptera: Silphidae) based on 16S rRNA gene in China
- Author:
Tang, Z.C.
;
Guo, Y.D.
;
Zhang, X.W.
;
Shi, J.
;
Yang, K.T.
;
Li, X.L.
;
Chen, Y.Q.
;
Cai, J.F.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- From:Tropical Biomedicine
2012;29(3):493-498
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Sarcophagous beetles play an important role in estimating postmortem interval time (PMI) in the later stages decomposition of carcasses. However, the morphological
similarity of beetles usually poses a challenge for forensic scientists within their routine
work. As a supplementary to traditional morphological method, molecular genetics identification is simple and time-saving. A molecular identification method involving a 288-bp segment of the 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene from 15 beetles of Silphidae (Coleoptera),
collected from 5 locations in 4 Chinese provinces, was evaluated. Phenogram analysis of the sequenced segments by the unweighted pairgroup method analysis (UPGMA) method showed that all specimens were properly assigned into four species with strong similarity, which indicated the possibility of separation congeneric species with the short 16S rRNA fragment. These results will be instrumental for implementation of the Chinese database of forensically relevant beetles
- Full text:W020150618415822288455.pdf
