Molecular Characterization of Sibling Species of the Genus <i>Hirtodrosophila</i> (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

This study focused on the molecular characterization of two sibling species, Hirtodrosophila fascipennis (Okada, 1967) and Hirtodrosophila pellucidipennis (Bhardwaj, Khan and Fartyal, 2022) using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) gene sequences. Sequencing of the amplified mtCOI gene sequences, followed by BLAST analysis confirmed the identification of two species by comparing them to sequences available in GenBank. The identification of species was further confirmed by phylogenetic analysis. The combination of molecular approaches and phylogenetic analysis provides a comprehensive approach to identifying species highlighting the utility of mtCOI as a genetic marker for studying closely related species.