TY - JOUR
T1 - Bioluminescent bacteria have potential as a marker of drowning in seawater
T2 - Two immersed cadavers retrieved near estuaries
AU - Kakizaki, Eiji
AU - Kozawa, Shuji
AU - Sakai, Masahiro
AU - Yukawa, Nobuhiro
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Associate Professor Terutoyo Yoshida (Division of Fisheries Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki) for valuable advice regarding the biology of marine bacteria; Professor Tetsuya Hayashi (Division of Bioenvironmental Science, Frontier Science Research Center, University of Miyazaki) for use of equipment in his laboratory; and Ms. Noriko Tashiro and Ms. Ryoko Ganaha (Section of Legal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki) for assistance with manuscript preparation. This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (No.18590640) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.
PY - 2009/3
Y1 - 2009/3
N2 - We detected numerous bioluminescent bacteria in blood samples from two cadavers that had been immersed in estuarine environments. Autopsy, diatomaceous and toxicological findings indicated death by drowning, which agreed with environmental aspects and the findings of police investigations. Bioluminescent bacteria appeared in blood samples cultured on selective agar containing 2%, 3% and 4% NaCl after about 18 h. Blood from the left side of the heart, the right side of the heart and the femoral vein generated 7.0 × 102, 2.0 × 104 and 8.0 × 102 cfu/ml of blood (case 1), and 1.8 × 104, 1.1 × 103 and 2.5 × 101 cfu/ml (case 2) of bioluminescent colonies, respectively, in agar containing 4% NaCl. Homologous analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene also identified the bioluminescent colonies as Vibrio fischeri and V. harveyi, which normally inhabit seawater. This simple assay might serve as an additional indicator to support a conclusion of death by drowning together with the diatom test.
AB - We detected numerous bioluminescent bacteria in blood samples from two cadavers that had been immersed in estuarine environments. Autopsy, diatomaceous and toxicological findings indicated death by drowning, which agreed with environmental aspects and the findings of police investigations. Bioluminescent bacteria appeared in blood samples cultured on selective agar containing 2%, 3% and 4% NaCl after about 18 h. Blood from the left side of the heart, the right side of the heart and the femoral vein generated 7.0 × 102, 2.0 × 104 and 8.0 × 102 cfu/ml of blood (case 1), and 1.8 × 104, 1.1 × 103 and 2.5 × 101 cfu/ml (case 2) of bioluminescent colonies, respectively, in agar containing 4% NaCl. Homologous analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene also identified the bioluminescent colonies as Vibrio fischeri and V. harveyi, which normally inhabit seawater. This simple assay might serve as an additional indicator to support a conclusion of death by drowning together with the diatom test.
KW - Bioluminescent marine bacteria
KW - Drowning
KW - Estuary
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U2 - 10.1016/j.legalmed.2008.10.004
DO - 10.1016/j.legalmed.2008.10.004
M3 - Article
C2 - 19121971
AN - SCOPUS:58749113789
SN - 1344-6223
VL - 11
SP - 91
EP - 96
JO - Legal Medicine
JF - Legal Medicine
IS - 2
ER -