Dataset Information

Puparial Cases as Toxicological Indicators: Bioaccumulation of Cadmium and Thallium in the Forensically Important Blowfly Lucilia sericata.

ABSTRACT: In this study, we present entomotoxicological data on the accumulation of cadmium and thallium in a forensically important blowfly, Lucilia sericata, and evaluate the reliability and utility of such information as toxicological evidence for poisoning as a cause of death. We observed that Cd and Tl content in different growing stages of L. sericata (larvae, puparial cases, and adults) was increasing with increasing metal concentration in the feeding substrate, namely metal-enriched liver. However, patterns of accumulation differed between the two metals investigated, showing a linear relationship for Cd and a saturable pattern for Tl. For cadmium, the highest bioaccumulation factor (BAF) was found in the larval stage (in the range of 0.20-0.25), while for thallium, puparial cases accumulated more metal than the other stages tested (BAF in the range of 0.24-0.42). Thallium was also observed to have a negative effect on larval growth, resulting in lower weight and smaller puparial size. With this study, we update the information on the bioaccumulation of cadmium in forensically important blowflies and provide the first report on the bioaccumulation of thallium as well as its developmental impact in blowflies. Specifically, our results suggest that analysis of puparial cases could yield useful information for entomotoxicological investigations. The content of Cd and Tl in larvae, puparial cases, and adults of L. sericata was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The validation parameters of the method such as sensitivity, detection limits, quantification limits, precision, and accuracy were evaluated. The method detection limit (MDL) for all types of samples was in the range of 1.6-3.4 ng g^-1 for Cd and 0.034-0.15 ng g^-1 for Tl, and the accuracy of the method was confirmed by a high recovery of metals from certified reference materials (91.3% for Cd and 94.3% for Tl).

SUBMITTER: Malejko J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7716273 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Puparial Cases as Toxicological Indicators: Bioaccumulation of Cadmium and Thallium in the Forensically Important Blowfly Lucilia sericata.

Malejko Julita J Deoniziak Krzysztof K Tomczuk Marlena M Długokencka Joanna J Godlewska-Żyłkiewicz Beata B

Frontiers in chemistry 20201117

In this study, we present entomotoxicological data on the accumulation of cadmium and thallium in a forensically important blowfly, Lucilia sericata, and evaluate the reliability and utility of such information as toxicological evidence for poisoning as a cause of death. We observed that Cd and Tl content in different growing stages of L. sericata (larvae, puparial cases, and adults) was increasing with increasing metal concentration in the feeding substrate, namely metal-enriched ...[more]

PMID: 33330373

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Project description:BackgroundThe green bottle fly maggot, Lucilia sericata, is a species with importance in medicine, agriculture and forensics. Improved understanding of this species' biology is of great potential benefit to many research communities. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are a short non-protein coding regulatory RNA, which directly regulate a host of protein coding genes at the translational level. They have been shown to have developmental and tissue specific distributions where they impact directly on gene regulation. In order to improve understanding of the biology of L. sericata maggots we have performed small RNA-sequencing of their secretions and tissue at different developmental stages.ResultsWe have successfully isolated RNA from the secretions of L. sericata maggots. Illumina small RNA-sequencing of these secretions and the three tissues (crop, salivary gland, gut) revealed that the most common small RNA fragments were derived from ribosomal RNA and transfer RNAs of both insect and bacterial origins. These RNA fragments were highly specific, with the most common tRNAs, such as GlyGCC, predominantly represented by reads derived from the 5' end of the mature maggot tRNA. Each library also had a unique profile of miRNAs with a high abundance of miR-10-5p in the maggot secretions and gut and miR-8 in the food storage organ the crop and salivary glands. The pattern of small RNAs in the bioactive maggot secretions suggests they originate from a combination of saliva, foregut and hindgut tissues. Droplet digital RT-PCR validation of the RNA-sequencing data shows that not only are there differences in the tissue profiles for miRNAs and small RNA fragments but that these are also modulated through developmental stages of the insect.ConclusionsWe have identified the small-RNAome of the medicinal maggots L. sericata and shown that there are distinct subsets of miRNAs expressed in specific tissues that also alter during the development of the insect. Furthermore there are very specific RNA fragments derived from other non-coding RNAs present in tissues and in the secretions. This new knowledge has applicability in diverse research fields including wound healing, agriculture and forensics.

Dataset Information

Puparial Cases as Toxicological Indicators: Bioaccumulation of Cadmium and Thallium in the Forensically Important Blowfly Lucilia sericata.

Publications

Puparial Cases as Toxicological Indicators: Bioaccumulation of Cadmium and Thallium in the Forensically Important Blowfly <i>Lucilia sericata</i>.

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