Suto Miwako, Abe Sumiko, Nakamura Hidemasa, Suzuki Toshiyuki, Itoh Toshimitsu, Kochi Hideo, Hoshiai Gen-ichi, Hiraiwa Kouichi
Department of Legal Medicine, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan.
Leg Med (Tokyo). 2003 Mar;5 Suppl 1:S142-4. doi: 10.1016/s1344-6223(02)00098-6.
We have developed a sensitive and specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for identifying phytoplankton in cases of death by drowning, and we have designed four primer pairs, EG1, EG2, SK1 and SK2, for chlorophyll-related genes of Euglena gracilis and Skeletonema costatum, which are commonly distributed in all types of water. In order to evaluate the usefulness of this method for diagnosis of drowning, we have used this method for detection of plankton genes in non-drowned rabbits submerged after death and in decomposed drowned rabbits. Plankton DNA was identified in lung samples obtained from the non-drowned rabbits because of postmortem plankton penetration into the respiratory system, and plankton DNA was identified in liver and kidney samples obtained from the decomposed drown rabbits. The results show that our new PCR method is a useful method for diagnosing drowning.
我们开发了一种灵敏且特异的聚合酶链反应（PCR）方法，用于在溺水死亡案例中鉴定浮游植物。我们针对常见于各类水体中的纤细裸藻和中肋骨条藻的叶绿素相关基因，设计了四对引物，即EG1、EG2、SK1和SK2。为评估该方法在溺水诊断中的实用性，我们将此方法用于检测死后浸没的未溺水兔子以及已分解的溺水兔子体内的浮游生物基因。由于死后浮游生物侵入呼吸系统，在从未溺水兔子获取的肺样本中鉴定出了浮游生物DNA，并且在从已分解的溺水兔子获取的肝脏和肾脏样本中也鉴定出了浮游生物DNA。结果表明，我们新的PCR方法是诊断溺水的一种有用方法。
