Discovering Biodiversity of Drosophila by DNA Barcoding in Kunshan, Jiangsu, China

In this study, Drosophila was collected from the Duke Kunshan campus in Kunshan, Jiangsu, China during the summer of 2020. Their DNA was extracted for DNA barcoding with the Cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene. Sequenced COI gene fragments were searched in Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) to identify their species. A phylogenetic tree was built to demonstrate the biodiversity of Drosophila on the new campus. This study proved that DNA barcoding using the COI gene is capable of identifying Drosophila species and discovering biodiversity. The photography, geographical location, COI gene sequence, and taxonomy of the collected sample were shared with community members on the BOLD database.