Abstract
While several methods for determining postmortem submersion
interval (PMSI) in drowning cases have been suggested,
the estimation of PMSI remains difficult. Next-generation
sequencing (NGS) technology enables simultaneous
identification of multiple taxa from environmental samples.
Although NGS has been applied to estimate time since death,
this application has been mainly focused on terrestrial cases.
As a case study, we investigated microeukaryotic biodiversity
and community structures in submerged car bonnet and
drowned pig using NGS technology. NGS analysis showed
that the microeukaryotic biodiversity in pig carcass was relevantly
lower than that in car bonnet. NGS results also revealed
that water molds and algae were related to decomposition.
Relative abundances of Filobasidium, Achlya, Saprolegnia,
Hydrodicton, Lobosphaera, and Scenedesmus varied
with decomposition period. This data indicated that these
taxa might be useful as good indicators to estimate PMSI.
This study showed microeukaryotic community analysis using
NGS technology may help solve drowning cases in forensic
investigation.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by

- Microbiota signature of the lung as the promising bioindicator for drowning diagnosis and postmortem submersion interval estimation
Kuo Zeng, Fu-Yuan Zhang, Ming-Zhe Wu, Hao-Miao Yuan, Shu-Kui Du, Jin-Cheng Ying, Yan Zhang, Lin-Lin Wang, Rui Zhao, Da-Wei Guan
International Journal of Legal Medicine.2025; 139(4): 1863. CrossRef - A review of human decomposition in marine environments
Britny A. Martlin, Gail S. Anderson, Lynne S. Bell
Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal.2023; 56(2): 92. CrossRef - Determination of the corpse’s stay in the water duration according to maceration degree of its skin
A.Yu. Vavilov, A.A. Khalikov, I.A. Rykunov, K.O. Kuznetsov, R.H. Sagidullin
Forensic Medical Expertise.2023; 66(3): 64. CrossRef - Predicting the Postmortem Interval Based on Gravesoil Microbiome Data and a Random Forest Model
Chunhong Cui, Yang Song, Dongmei Mao, Yajun Cao, Bowen Qiu, Peng Gui, Hui Wang, Xingchun Zhao, Zhi Huang, Liqiong Sun, Zengtao Zhong
Microorganisms.2022; 11(1): 56. CrossRef - Bacterial Succession in Microbial Biofilm as a Potential Indicator for Postmortem Submersion Interval Estimation
Finkelbergs Dmitrijs, Juanjuan Guo, Yecao Huang, Yafei Liu, Xinyue Fang, Kankan Jiang, Lagabaiyila Zha, Jifeng Cai, Xiaoliang Fu
Frontiers in Microbiology.2022;[Epub] CrossRef