Human identification from the gut of blowfly larvae (Calliphoridae)

Entomological evidence is most commonly used to estimate the postmortem interval, where it is crucial to identify species of insect feeding on the corpse. Analysis of human DNA isolated from insects enables identification of human remains: in cases of identification of corpse displaced from the crime scene, in cases where larvae had alternative food source, or in cases of questionable reliability of collected evidence. The aim of this study was to recover suitable human DNA from the gut of blowfly larvae (Calliphoridae) at different larval stage. Different decontamination, preservation and extraction methods were compared. Obtained DNA profiles were matched to cadaver reference sample, using commercial forensic kits (AmpFlSTR® Identifiler™ and AmpFlSTR® MiniFiler™). The results show that it is possible to obtain human STR profile sufficient for human identification from fly maggot gut at different larval stage, while several technical precautions should be considered.