Partial sequencing of the cytochrome oxydase b subunit gene I: a tool for the identification of European species of blow flies for postmortem interval estimation.

The identification of insects found on a dead body can lead to the estimation of the time of death (postmortem interval). We report an updated version of an established method based on sequence analysis of PCR products from a region of the cytochrome b oxidase subunit I mitochondrial gene of different members of the family Calliphoridae, by sequencing six European species: Lucilia sericata (Meigen), Lucilia caesar (Linné), Lucilia illustris (Meigen), Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvody), Calliphora vomitoria (Linné), Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau-Desvody) and one Guianese species: Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius). This technique provided clear results when applied to the larvae and we also report the identification of empty puparia.