Detection of diverse aquatic microbes in lungs and blood of drowning and non-drowning victims by a metagenomic approach

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25293163
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Legal medicine
• Research Institution: University of Miyazaki
• Principal Investigator: YUKAWA Nobuhiro 宮崎大学, 医学部, 教授 (30240154)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): HAYASHI TETSUYA 九州大学, 大学院医学研究院, 教授 (10173014) ; KAKIZAKI EIJI 宮崎大学, 医学部社会医学講座法医学分野, 准教授 (70284833)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): OGURA YOSHITOSHI 九州大学, 大学院医学研究院, 准教授 (40363585)
• Research Collaborator: SONODA AI 宮崎大学, 医学部社会医学講座法医学分野, 助手 (10762122)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 法医学 / 溺死 / 水棲微生物 / プランクトン / 水棲細菌 / 珪藻 / 藍藻（シアノバクテリア）

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We used a high-throughput 454-pyrosequencing strategy to detect diverse aquatic microbes in the lungs (56 specimens) and blood (72 specimens)of 19 drowning and 13 non-drowning victims. This technique was very useful for determining the diversity of aquatic microbes such as bacteria including cyanobacteria, diatoms and other algae in drowning victims. This technique therefore has high potential as a novel molecular tool with which to examine whether an immersed victim has drowned, especially when the results of conventional diatom testing or other useful approaches are equivocal. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to use a next generation sequencer to investigate diverse aquatic microbes in the lungs and blood of many drowning and non-drowning victims.

Free Research Field

法医学