MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA SEQUENCE OF CYTOCHROME-OXIDASE-II FROM CALLIPHORA-ERYTHROCEPHALA - EVOLUTION OF BLOWFLIES (DIPTERA, CALLIPHORIDAE)

The complementary DNA sequence for the mitochondrially encoded cytochr ome oxidase subunit II (COII) gene was determined for the blowfly Call iphora erythrocephala Meigen. The sequence has a high A+T content (73% ) typical of some insect mitochondrial genomes. The sequence is highly conserved with other Calliphoridae thus far examined, exhibiting betw een 5.1 and 8.9% nucleotide difference, 3 amino acid substitutions in the body of the protein, and length variation at the carboxy-terminus. Evolutionary analysis using maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood supports the traditional monophyletic grouping of the Calliphoridae an d suggests that the Calliphora sequence is more closely related to the blowfly Phormia regina Meigen than it is to Lucillia illustris Meigen or Phaenicia sericata Meigen.