DOI: 10.2478/dna-2014-0001 DNA Barcodes 2014; Volume 2: 1–9 stranded molecule with a range of 14,503 bp (Rhopalomyia pomum) to 19,517 bp (Drosophila melanogaster) in size [7]. It consists of 37 genes encoding the large and small subunit ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs (trnI, trnQ, trnM, trnW, trnC, trnY, trnL1, trnK, trnD, trnG, trnA, trnR, trnN, trnS1, trnE, trnF, trnH, trnT, trnP, trnS2, trnL2, trnV) necessary to translate the protein-coding genes and 13 protein coding genes that are all components of the oxidative phosphorylation process (Figure 1). The insect mt genome also consists of a regulatory element known as AT rich region which plays important role in initiation of transcription and replication [8,9]. The arrangement of major genes in the mitochondrial genome is highly conserved across animal phyla. However insects are exceptionally different, having highly variable gene orders - Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Diptera (flies), Phthiraptera (lice), Thysanoptera (thrips), Psocoptera (bark lice) and Hymenoptera (wasps) (http:// whitinglab.byu.edu/Research/MitochondrialGenomics. aspx). Eighty three insect species belonging to 11 orders Abstract: Similar morphology and high genetic diversity poses problems in phylogenetic studies of insects. To solve these problems, mitochondrial based markers have been adopted and are increasingly used as molecular markers for phylogenetic studies. Varied markers have been used for different species of insects, viz., markers for 16S r RNA, 12S r RNA, ND (1-6 genes), ATPase and control regions. Among which protein coding gene, CO-1 is found to be best because of its advantage over others whereas, AT rich region of mitochondrial DNA is the least used marker. A recent advanced technology in phylogenetic analysis; namely mitogenomics have greatly improved this research field. This short review attempted to summarize recent studies on the application of various mitochondrial molecular markers for phylogenetic study of insects. Keywords: insects, mitochondrial marker, molecular phylogeny, CO-1, mitogenomics *Corresponding author: Nachimuthu Senthil Kumar: Department of Biotechnology, Mizoram University, Aizawl-796004, Mizoram, India. Email: nskmzu@gmail.com, Mobile: +91-9436352574 Surajit De Mandal, Liansangmawii Chhakchhuak: Department of Biotechnology, Mizoram University, Aizawl-796004, Mizoram, India. Guruswami Gurusubramanian: Department of Zoology, Mizoram University, Aizawl-796004, Mizoram, India. Introduction Mitochondria - the powerhouse of a cell plays a crucial role in respiration, genetic illness, aging and self-destruction of a cell [1-4].The genetic material in mitochondria, the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) contains genes involved in production of enzymes for oxidative phosphorylation and protein synthesis. Mitochondrial (mt) genome sequence and structure provides evolutionary and comparative genomics informations as well as, informations on molecular evolution and patterns of gene flow, phylogenetics and population genetics resources [5,6]. Like other animals, insect mitochondrial genome is a double Research Article Open Access © 2014 Surajit De Mandal, et al., licensee De Gruyter Open. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License. Surajit De Mandal, Liansangmawii Chhakchhuak, Guruswami Gurusubramanian, Nachimuthu Senthil Kumar* Mitochondrial markers for identification and phylogenetic studies in insects – A Review Figure 1: Map of the mitochondrial genome of Pyrocoelia rufa [82]. Unauthenticated Download Date | 12/11/14 8:15 PM