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DNA barcoding works like a genetic identification system, similar to supermarket barcodes used for products. Using short DNA sequences, scientists can accurately identify species. This study generated more than 100 DNA barcodes representing a wide range of cockroach species from peninsular India, including several endemic Indian lineages found nowhere else in the world.

This marks the creation of the first DNA barcode library for the Indian cockroaches. In another three four days, all 119 barcodes will be released and then the entire gene sequence will be opened for access to the scientific fraternity across the world. Now whenever anybody is going to use this data for any research, we will receive credit for having generated this DNA barcode library.

By combining modern DNA-based techniques with traditional taxonomy, this study uncovered several poorly known and previously undocumented groups, revealing that India’s hidden cockroach diversity is far greater than previously recognised. Most wild cockroach species are harmless and highly sensitive to environmental disturbances, making them important indicators of ecosystem health. There is in fact an urgent need for further exploration and molecular documentation of India’s native cockroach fauna, many of which remain scientifically overlooked and widely misunderstood.

Using the same genetic data, we can trace back the ancestry and evolutionary study of cockroaches.

Most of the scientific studies on Indian cockroaches are limited to the colonial period. Hence, we wanted to relook at the cockroach with new tools like DNA barcoding. For the first time such a large-scale effort is taken to create a DNA barcode library. Furthermore, in India, being owners of our biodiversity; it is our prime responsibility to generate this data for study.

Around 300 million years ago, when life gradually began moving from water to land, insects were among the first organisms to colonize terrestrial habitats. Cockroaches, in particular, are considered one of the most resilient species on Earth. There is a common belief that they can survive even extreme conditions, including nuclear explosions, which highlights their remarkable adaptability.

Our study aims to trace their ancestry and understand how ancient the cockroach lineages found in India really are. By studying their evolutionary history, we hope to uncover how these insects have survived and adapted over millions of years.

India is recognised as one of the world’s megadiverse countries, yet its cockroach diversity has remained largely unexplored despite the ecological importance of these insects. Cockroaches are one of the oldest and most diverse groups of insects on the earth, playing an important role in maintaining natural ecosystems. They help decompose organic matter, recycle nutrients, and support forest food webs.

There is a common notion that cockroaches are just pests. But forested cockroaches are actual biological engineers, next to termites which are involved in degrading the deadwood matter. Termites are known for eating wood, with researchers studying their gut microbiota for successfully digesting hardwood, which might help finding solutions for solid waste management. Termites and cockroaches are sisters on a phylogenetic scale. They too, especially the forested cockroaches, eat hardwood. But they have been neglected. For some reasons, in India the cockroach study never geared up. We are creating baseline data for avoiding future bioprospecting aspects.

General perception about cockroaches is those found in households. But thanks to civilization, those are all transported with human-beings like rodents. There are cockroaches inside the forest that have a unique history, which will give us very different information.

Secondly, with increasing global trade and movement, species are constantly being transported across borders. DNA barcoding can help detect whether a cockroach species from another country has entered India, or whether an Indian species has spread elsewhere. For instance, our team has generated 119 DNA barcodes. If any of these species are later found in another part of the world and scientists there conduct a DNA barcode analysis, they can compare the sequence with existing databases. An exact match with our sequences would immediately indicate that the species originated from India. This genetic data has multiple applications based on people’s expertise.

As a first part we have come out with a DNA barcode library which can be accessed anywhere across the world. In the second part we are planning to trace back the Indian cockroaches’ evolutionary history to understand the ancient lineages hiding deep inside the forests of the Western Ghats, which we presume is a biodiversity hotspot and we should find old lineages there. ?