Problems of Forensic Sciences 2011 Vol. 86 (LXXXVI) 151-161
Methods used in species identification of hallucinogenic and other poisonous mushrooms in forensic investigations
Aleksandra Zuber1, Marek Kowalczyk1, Andrzej Sekuła1, Piotr Mleczko2, Tomasz Kupiec1
1Institute of Forensic Research, Kraków, Poland
2Institute of Botany, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
Streszczenie
In forensic practice, mushroom poisonings – both accidental and those resulting from crimes and suicide attempts – are a frequently encountered type of case. In recent years, there has also been an increased interest in hallucinogenic mushrooms. Under the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction dated July 29, 2005, possession of and trade in wild mushrooms which contain narcotic substances is a crime. Therefore, precise identification of species of fungi that contain illegal and toxic substances is very important for the purposes of judicial proceedings. Morphological analysis, a standard method for fungi species identification, does not always yield satisfactory results. Due to the reliability, speed and decreasing cost of DNA analysis, genetic methods are an interesting alternative for determining the species of biological material. Markers frequently employed in species identification of fungi are internal transcribed spacers regions (ITS1 and ITS2). The objective of a project that is being implemented at the Institute of Forensic Research is the preparation of an ITS1 and ITS2 regions sequence database of the analyzed fungal species and the validation of methods for DNA sequence analysis of these regions in the case of processed samples.
Słowa kluczowe
Species identification; ITS1; ITS2; Hallucinogenic mushrooms; Poisonous mushrooms; Poisoning.