PJB-2024-93
DNA Barcoding of the Agricultural Insect Eupeodes corollae in the Quetta District of Pakistan
Mohammad Iqbal Faisal
Abstract
The DNA barcoding technique for species identification involves amplifying a segment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase enzyme unit I (mtCO1) gene of unknown species using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Following sequencing a barcode is developed by matching it to the global databank of already identified species. Our study was conducted in the Quetta district of Balochistan, Pakistan to uncover the biodiversity of beneficial agricultural insects such as the common European hoverfly Eupeodes corollae. A Malaise trap collected different insect species, which were sent to the Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding (CCDB) and the retrieved sample sequences were further analysed using the Barcode of Life Data (BOLD) system. The query sequences were assessed for nucleotide base pairs composition and subjected to inter and intra species analysis. Seven query sequences revealed 99-100% similarity to database entries for E. corollae, thus confirming their molecular identities. The query sequences showed less than 97% similarity to seven other species of the Eupeodes genus, thus confirming a close relationship, but not at the species level. Phylogenetic analysis was performed to confirm and illustrate the results. Our findings demonstrate the potential of DNA barcoding for proficient identification of E. corollae.
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