Mitra Ankush, Mitra Pubali, Mahadani Pradosh, Trivedi Subrata, Banerjee Dhriti, Das Madhusudan
Zoological Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata, Pin- 700053, West Bengal, India.
Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, 35, Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata, Pin- 700019, West Bengal, India.
BMC Genomics. 2025 Jan 24;26(1):70. doi: 10.1186/s12864-025-11261-1.
The Tephritidae family, commonly referred to as true fruit flies, comprises of a substantial group within order Diptera. Numerous species within this family are major agricultural pests, with a tendency to infest a wide array of fruits and vegetables in tropical and sub- tropical regions, leading to considerable damage and consequent reductions in the market value of the crops.
The current study was aimed to propose a promising solution to the menace posed by fruit flies by offering rapid, accurate and reliable species identification by using character-based DNA barcode methodology. The Tephritid specimens were collected from Cucurbitaceous plants of southern parts of West Bengal, India, and a total of eight species from Tephritidae family were obtained belonging to three genera, namely Bactrocera (Macquart, 1835), Dacus (Fabricius, 1805) and Zeugodacus (Hendel, 1927). Their morphological features were meticulously studied based on available literature, along with genetic analysis based on mitochondrial COI and ND1 gene sequences. A total of 30 uniquely variable sites at nucleotide position 42,48,51,60,66,72, 105,111,144,198,207,243, 273,297,307,318,345,357, 375,378,381,387,399,400, 402,436,444,450,453 and 460 in COI gene were discerned among Tephritid species in the present study.
The character-based DNA barcode holds the potential to differentiate closely related species of fruit flies and morphologically look-a-like ones. The novel method will be very significant in terms of rapid, precise and reliable species identification and might be extremely essential for early detection during pest outbreaks by facilitating timely intervention strategies to mitigate crop damage.
实蝇科通常被称为真果蝇，是双翅目内的一个庞大类群。该科众多物种是主要的农业害虫，倾向于在热带和亚热带地区侵害多种水果和蔬菜，导致严重损害，进而使农作物市场价值降低。
当前研究旨在通过基于特征的DNA条形码方法提供快速、准确且可靠的物种鉴定，从而为果蝇造成的威胁提出一个有前景的解决方案。从印度西孟加拉邦南部的葫芦科植物上采集实蝇标本，共获得实蝇科的8个物种，分属于三个属，即果实蝇属（Macquart，1835年）、寡鬃实蝇属（Fabricius，1805年）和绕实蝇属（Hendel，1927年）。基于现有文献对其形态特征进行了细致研究，并基于线粒体COI和ND1基因序列进行了遗传分析。在本研究中，实蝇物种的COI基因在核苷酸位置42、48、51、60、66、72、105、111、144、198、207、243、273、297、307、318、345、357、375、378、381、387、399、400、402、436、444、450、453和460处共识别出30个独特的可变位点。
基于特征的DNA条形码有潜力区分果蝇的近缘物种以及形态相似的物种。这种新方法在快速、精确和可靠的物种鉴定方面将非常重要，并且通过促进及时的干预策略以减轻作物损害，对于害虫爆发期间的早期检测可能极其关键。
