The 2005 ESA Annual Meeting and Exhibition
December 15-18, 2005
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

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Saturday, December 17, 2005
D0258

Characterization of the control region of the mitochondrial DNA and evaluation of its potential as molecular marker in myiasis-causing flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Gustavo Turqueto Duarte, gtduarte@unicamp.br, Ana Carolina M. Junqueira, anacmj@unicamp.br, and Ana Maria L. Azeredo-Espin, azeredo@unicamp.br. Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Centro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia Genética, Laboratório de Genética Animal, CP: 6010, Campinas, SP, Brazil

Molecular markers are providing valuable results on studies for the characterization of genetic variability, population structure and identification of myiasis-causing flies from Calliphoridae family. This family includes species of economic, forensic and medical importance. Forensic and population studies require precise identification, factor that can be hindered by morphological and ecological similarities, especially during the larval stage. For this study, the control region (CR), which is the major non-coding portion of the mtDNA, was sequenced for fifteen calliphorid species, recovered by two PCR reactions using specific and universal primers. The A domain of CR showed six conserved sequence blocks (CSBs) that might be related to functional activities, such as the transcription and replication of the mtDNA. The nucleotide content of this domain reaches 92.3% of A+T. Because of its CSBs, the A domain of the CR is a potential marker for phylogenetic reconstruction of recent diverged taxa. The B domain, however, exhibited hipervariability, with lengths varying from 650 to 1700 bp, limiting its utility for phylogenetic reconstruction, but that may be useful as a molecular marker for species identification. In addition, a complete duplication of the tRNAIle was found on five Chrysomya species studied. This duplication ranges from 112 to 123 bp, including the flanking regions of the tRNAIle. The duplication has an identical sequence when compared to the other tRNAIle gene, found in all Hexapoda. This duplication may be used for Chrysomya genus identification, since it has not been reported for other genus of Calliphoridae.


Species 1: Diptera Calliphoridae Chrysomya
Species 2: Diptera Calliphoridae Lucilia
Species 3: Diptera Calliphoridae Calliphora
Keywords: Mithochondrial genome, A+T rich region