DNA-Based Detection of Ethanol-Producing Microorganisms in Postmortem Blood and Tissues by Polymerase Chain Reaction

Vu, Nicole; Chaturvedi, Arvind K.; Canfield, Dennis V.; Soper, John W.; Kupfer, Doris M.; Roe, Bruce A

doi:10.21949/1404174

i

DNA-Based Detection of Ethanol-Producing Microorganisms in Postmortem Blood and Tissues by Polymerase Chain Reaction

2000-05-01
By Vu, Nicole ; Chaturvedi, Arvind K. ; Canfield, Dennis V. ; ...

File Language:

English

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Creators:

Vu, Nicole ; Chaturvedi, Arvind K. ; Canfield, Dennis V. ; Soper, John W. ; Kupfer, Doris M. ; Roe, Bruce A
Corporate Creators:

United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation Medicine. Civil Aeromedical Institute ; University of Oklahoma. Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Corporate Contributors:

United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation Medicine
Subject/TRT Terms:

Air Transportation Crashes Alcohol Abuse Alcohol Effects Alcoholism Alcohol Use Candida Albicans Casualties Chemical Analysis DNA DNA Analysis Escherichia Coli Ethanol Fatalities Fermentative Intoxication Microorganisms Oligonucleotides PCR Polymerase Chain Reaction Postmortem Alcohol Primers Proteus Vulgaris Putrefaction
Publication/ Report Number:

DOT/FAA/AM-00/16
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21949/1404174
Resource Type:

Tech Report
Geographical Coverage:

United States
Corporate Publisher:

United States. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation Medicine
Abstract:

Forensic investigation of fatal aircraft accidents usually includes the analysis of biological samples for ethanol to establish if alcohol intoxication is a factor in the accidents. The quantitative aspects of ethanol are often complicated by postmortem putrefactive changes, leading to microbial fermentation-mediated production of alcohol and its subsequent redistribution. Without establishing the ethanol origin (antemortem consumption or postmortem production), a precise interpretation of the alcohol analytical results remains a challenge. Therefore, a DNA-based assay was developed using the polymerase chain reaction and microbial DNA primers designed for identifying 3 commonly encountered ethanol-producing microorganisms Candida albicans, Proteus vulgaris, and Escherichia coli. The present study focused on examining the applicability of the microbial DNA primers in establishing the existence of postmortem alcohol in samples. The results suggested that species-specific primers could be employed to identify ethanol-producing microorganisms in forensic samples without requiring bacterial cultivation. Continued studies are warranted to define additional primer sequences that are distinctive for ethanol-producing microorganisms.
Format:

PDF
Collection(s):

FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha-512:369b2c918e2627fb652b92a2d0c428b2f5b5b5c74de75b2b74f1f2436d958ae8a56af8a7758a2e83952c284c0e86315aa0c26f0744bf0dc7381dfccd63d7d340
Download URL:

https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/85853/dot_85853_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 476.32 KB ]

File Language:

English

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