Seasonal study of the decomposition pattern and insects on a submerged pig cadaver

Dalal, Jyoti; Sharma, Sapna; Bhardwaj, Tapeshwar; Dhattarwal, S.K.; Verma, Kapil

doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2020.102023

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…First, most parts of the carcass tissues were submerged in water, and flies could only colonize a small part of the body, thus, fewer fly eggs were oviposited ( Heo et al, 2008 ). Fly larvae are one of the primary organisms that facilitate decomposition in water ( Dalal et al, 2020 ). A reduced number of maggots greatly decrease the decomposition of carcasses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating the Postmortem Interval of Carcasses in the Water Using the Carrion Insect, Brain Tissue RNA, Bacterial Biofilm, and Algae

Wang

et al. 2022

Front. Microbiol.

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The accurate estimation of postmortem interval (PMI) is crucial in the investigation of homicide cases. Unlike carcasses on land, various biological and abiotic factors affect the decomposition of carcasses in water. In addition, the insect evidence (e.g., blow flies) that is commonly used to estimate the PMI are unavailable before the carcasses float on water. Therefore, it is difficult to estimate the PMI of a carcass in water. This study aimed to explore an effective way of estimating the PMI of a carcass in water. Carrion insects, brain tissue RNA, bacterial biofilm on the skin surface, and algae in water with PMI were studied using 45 rat carcasses in a small river. The results showed that carrion insects might not be suitable for the estimation of PMI of a carcass in water since they do not have a regular succession pattern as a carcass on land, and the flies only colonized six of the carcasses. The target genes (β-actin, GAPDH, and 18S) in the brain tissue were associated with the PMI in a time-dependent manner within 1 week after death. A polynomial regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between the gene expression profiles and PMI. The correlation coefficient R2 of each regression equation was ≥ 0.924. A third-generation sequencing analysis showed that the bacteria on the skin surface of the carcass and the algae in the water samples around the carcass had a regular succession pattern, where Cryptomonas and Placoneis incased and decreased, respectively, within first 9 days. The results of this study provide a promising way to use the brain tissue RNA, bacterial biofilm, and algae to estimate the PMI of a carcass in water.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating the Postmortem Interval of Carcasses in the Water Using the Carrion Insect, Brain Tissue RNA, Bacterial Biofilm, and Algae

Wang

et al. 2022

Front. Microbiol.

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“…Typically, corpses and carcasses in aquatic environments such as ponds or swamps will experience a series of submerging and floating phases (Mann et al 1990;Heo et al 2008;Magni et al 2013;Ramos-Pastrana et al 2019;Dalal et al 2020). During this floating phase, forensically important flies will colonize the corpse and can be used for PMI estimation (Mann et al 1990).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forensically important fly larvae on floating corpses in Malaysia: three case reports

Abdullah

Shafie

Wahid

2022

Egypt J Forensic Sci

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Background Understanding how environmental conditions can influence the insect distribution on corpses is essential to determine the postmortem interval. However, literatures related to forensically important flies in an aquatic environment were scarce. We report herewith a case series comprising three forensic cases related to floating corpses infested with fly larvae in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Case presentation Case 1 involved the corpse of a 43-year old male found in the waterside of an abandoned mine. Case 2 was a 40-year-old male floating on a river stream, while case 3 was an 11-year-old boy who was found trapped in a monsoon drain after heavy rain. Numerous larvae of various stages, identified as Chrysomya megacephala (Calliphoridae) species, were collected in all cases even though the number of larvae was relatively lower compared to those usually collected on corpses found on terrestrial areas. Besides, the larvae of Eristalis spp. (Syrphidae), which are known to be exclusively associated with water bodies, were found in two of the cases. The blowfly Ch. rufifacies (Calliphoridae) larvae were collected only in case 3. Conclusions These findings show that both Ch. megacephala and Ch. rufifacies can be found in the ecologically varied death scene habitats including aquatic areas. Meanwhile, the presence of Eristalis spp. can be used as an indicator of death location associated with an aquatic environment. The challenges and limitations of analyzing entomological evidence on bodies discovered in aquatic environments were also discussed.

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“…Members of the Chironomidae can be used for minimum PMI estimation as well and are of special interest in the case of cadavers from aquatic environments [ 85 , 86 , 87 ]. The Antarctic midge has a set of core clock genes that are expressed on its head, including clock , period , timeless and vrille [ 88 ].…”

Section: Post-mortem Interval Determination By Biological Rhythms In ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Common Ground between Biological Rhythms and Forensics

Janjić

Reisinger

Kanz

2022

Biology

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Biological clocks set the timing for a large number of essential processes in the living human organism. After death, scientific evidence is required in forensic investigations in order to collect as much information as possible on the death circumstances and personal identifiers of the deceased victim. We summarize the associations between the molecular mechanisms of biological rhythms and forensically relevant aspects, including post-mortem interval and cause of death, entomological findings, sex, age, ethnicity and development. Given their importance during lifetime, biological rhythms could be potential tools to draw conclusions on the death circumstances and the identity of a deceased person by mechanistic investigations of the different biological clocks in a forensic context. This review puts the known effects of biological rhythms on the functions of the human organism in context with potential applications in forensic fields of interest, such as personal identification, entomology as well as the determination of the post-mortem interval and cause of death.

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Seasonal study of the decomposition pattern and insects on a submerged pig cadaver

Cited by 16 publications

References 25 publications

Estimating the Postmortem Interval of Carcasses in the Water Using the Carrion Insect, Brain Tissue RNA, Bacterial Biofilm, and Algae

Estimating the Postmortem Interval of Carcasses in the Water Using the Carrion Insect, Brain Tissue RNA, Bacterial Biofilm, and Algae

Forensically important fly larvae on floating corpses in Malaysia: three case reports

Common Ground between Biological Rhythms and Forensics

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