학술논문

Human and Insect Mitochondrial DNA Analysis from Maggots
Document Type
technical note
Source
Journal of Forensic Sciences, May 2001, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 685-687.
Subject
forensic science
forensic entomology
mitochondrial DNA
cytochrome oxidase
hypervariable region
species identification
death investigation
Cynomyopsis cadaverina
TECHNICAL NOTE
Language
English
ISSN
0022-1198
Abstract
During the course of our forensic investigations, we have encountered situations where it would have been useful to have evidence, other than direct contact between the two, for concluding that a carrion-fly maggot developed on a particular human victim. If a maggot collected during a death investigation did not develop on the victim, then its age is not relevant to estimating the postmortem interval. In this study we demonstrate that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data can be obtained from the dissected gut of a maggot that had fed on human tissue. These data can be used to identify both the human corpse upon which the maggot had been feeding and the species of the maggot itself.