Tehran University of Medical Sciences Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases 2322-1984 11 2 2017 06 13 182 193 EN Saedeh Sadat Hashemi-Aghdam Deptartment of Biology, Damghan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Damghan, Iran Golnaz Rafie Deptartment of Biology, Damghan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Damghan, Iran Sanaz Akbari Deptartment of Biology, Damghan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Damghan, Iran Mohammad Ali Oshaghi Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2016 07 02 2016 07 02 Background: Cockroaches are of vital importance medically and hygienically as they can disperse human patho­genic agents and are especially responsible for food contamination and spreading of food borne pathogens. In this study, part of mtDNA-COI gene of five common pest cockroaches was tested for diagnostic and phylogenetic pur­poses. Methods: We have described barcode region of mtDNA-COI gene of five cockroach species: Blattella germanica, Blatta orientalis, Periplaneta americana, Shelfordella lateralis, and Supella longipalpa, along with the development of a PCR-RFLP method for rapid detection and differentiation of these health pest species. Results: The PCR generates a single 710 bp-sized amplicon in all cockroach specimens, followed by direct se­quencing. AluI predicted from the sequencing data provided different RFLP profiles among five species. There was a significant intra-species variation within the American cockroach populations, but no genetic variation within other species. Accordingly, phylogenetic analysis demonstrates common monophyly for cockroach families in agreement with conventional taxonomy. However S. longipalpa (Ectobiidae) diverged as an early ancestor of other cockroaches and was not associated with other Ectobiidae. Conclusion: The PCR-RFLP protocol might be useful when the conventional taxonomic methods are not able to identify specimens, particularly when only small body parts of specimens are available or they are in a decaying condition. mtDNA-COI gene shows potentially useful for studying phylogenetic relationships of Blattodea order. https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/494 https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/download/494/325