Abstract
COI is the first subunit of the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase gene that is commonly used for barcoding via sequencing and molecular identification of insect orders and species. However, fast and cheap data analysis might still be required for the detection of insect orders and species to replace sequencing in large populations. The latter can be emphasized by detecting restriction enzyme site polymorphisms in COI sequences of insect orders and species. In the present study, we have utilized an in silico approach for detecting species- and order-specific molecular markers in insects collected from Saudi Arabia based on the new non-traditional open source tool, namely CisSERS. A number of 237 restriction enzymes were checked for the presence of their recognition sites within the COI gene sequence of the different insect species. Generated data was displayed in predicted agarose gels as virtual PCRRFLP patterns. The results indicated the occurrence of 14 species-specific and three order-specific molecular markers representing 10 species and two orders of insect. The highest number of species specific markers (3 markers) was generated for Idolus picipennis (Order: Coleoptera), followed by the two hemipteran Hacrosteles sp. and Osbornellus auronitens (two markers each). Three order-specific markers were generated for orders Lepidoptera (two markers) and Diptera (one marker). The overall results demonstrated that CisSERS efficiently allowed for the detection of species- and order-specific markers that can further be utilized in screening large insect populations.