Identification of forensically significant beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinoidae) based on COI gene in China

Accurate and fast identification of insect species is an initial and crucial step of using entomological evidence in forensic cases. Beetles of Coleoptera usually take large parts of taxonomic composition of the carrion-arthropod community and have important meaning for the estimation of postmortem interval (PMI). Traditional morphological taxonomy of beetles poses a great challenge for forensic investigators without entomological background. A cytochrome oxidase subunits one (COI) sequence on mitochondrial DNA with 816-bp length was studied for molecular identification of forensic significant beetles. Six beetle species in superfamily Staphylinoidae collected from four locations in China were sampled. All species were successfully separated with high support value, which indicated this partial COI fragment was sufficient for distinguishing these beetles. Further step utilization of COI fragment in identification of forensically important beetles was also discussed.