Mullany Christina, Keller Paul A, Nugraha Ari S, Wallman James F
Institute for Conservation Biology and Environmental Management, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
School of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
Forensic Sci Int. 2014 Aug;241:102-11. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2014.05.003. Epub 2014 May 20.
The larvae of necrophagous fly species are used as forensic tools for the determination of the minimum postmortem interval (PMI). However, any ingested drugs in corpses may affect larval development, thus leading to incorrect estimates of the period of infestation. This study investigated the effects of methamphetamine and its metabolite, p-hydroxymethamphetamine, on the forensically important Australian blowfly Calliphora stygia. It was found that the presence of the drugs significantly accelerated larval growth and increased the size of all life stages. Furthermore, drug-exposed samples remained as pupae for up to 78 h longer than controls. These findings suggest that estimates of the minimum PMI of methamphetamine-dosed corpses could be incorrect if the altered growth of C. stygia is not considered. Different temperatures, drug concentrations and substrate types are also likely to affect the development of this blowfly. Pending further research, the application of C. stygia to the entomological analysis of methamphetamine-related fatalities should be appropriately qualified.
食尸性蝇类的幼虫被用作法医工具，用于确定最短死后间隔时间（PMI）。然而，尸体中摄入的任何药物都可能影响幼虫发育，从而导致对侵染时间的估计错误。本研究调查了甲基苯丙胺及其代谢物对羟基甲基苯丙胺对具有法医重要性的澳大利亚丽蝇——澳洲丝光绿蝇的影响。研究发现，药物的存在显著加速了幼虫生长，并增加了所有生命阶段的大小。此外，接触药物的样本比对照组多保持蛹期长达78小时。这些发现表明，如果不考虑澳洲丝光绿蝇生长的改变，对服用甲基苯丙胺尸体的最短PMI的估计可能是错误的。不同的温度、药物浓度和底物类型也可能影响这种丽蝇的发育。在进一步研究之前，将澳洲丝光绿蝇应用于甲基苯丙胺相关死亡事件的昆虫学分析时应适当谨慎。
