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https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/jgen/099/0028

forensic entomology; ant phylogeny; formacidiae; mitochondrial genes.

Many studies on forensic entomology have focussed on Diptera and lack the Hymenopteras population. Nonetheless, hymenopterans are part of the entomofaunal colonization of a corpse. Morphologically, it is difficult to identify and distinguish between them. In this study, using mitochondrial DNA knowledge, the molecular analysis was performed to classify the recovered species of hymenoptera collected from rabbit carcass, quickly and accurately. A molecular identification method with a 251-bp fragment of the 16S ribosomal gene RNA (16S rRNA) from a single ant species was evaluated. The maximum likelihood method analysis has recovered a generally well-supported phylogeny, with most taxa and species groups currently being recognized as monophyletic. The aculeate consistsof some Hymenoptera’s best known. Their sister group has traditionally been considered in Ichneumonoidea. In addition, Trigonaloidea was found as the aculeates’ sister group and Crabronidae in Apoidea forming the Formicidae’s sister group. These results will play an important role in the implementation of the Saudi database forensically relevant ants.

REEM ALAJMI¹ RANIA HADDADI¹ REWAIDA ABDEL-GABER^{1 2} MOHAMMED ALKURIJI²

1. Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
2. Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Cairo University, Cairo 12613, Egypt

Published

10 April 2020

Manuscript received

18 December 2019

Manuscript revised

10 January 2020

Accepted

13 January 2020