Species discordance in diatom testing for drowning diagnosis: a biological passive sampling hypothesis with forensic implications.

Authors

Bo Wang, Jianhua Chen, Jifeng Cai, Xiaoshi Qin, Jie Cai, Yuzhao Xu, Jianghuan Lu, Yixin Ma, Zhiao Duan, Jianqiang Deng

Published in

International journal of legal medicine. Aug 07, 2026. Epub Aug 07, 2026.

Abstract

Diatom testing is a key technique for forensic drowning diagnosis, yet species discordance between diatom taxa in victim tissues and water samples from the recovery site remains a major medico-legal challenge, often misattributed to technical errors or post-mortem contamination. This correspondence proposes an interdisciplinary interpretative hypothesis based on biological passive sampling theory from environmental science, hypothesizing three potential mechanisms driving this discordance: selective sampling by anatomical structures and diatom physical traits, time-integrated accumulation of diatoms during the agonal period of drowning versus snapshot water sampling, and chronic dietary diatom exposure forming a potential background signal. We cautiously distinguish natural biological discordance from artificial post-mortem contamination, and suggest reframing discordance from a methodological flaw to a potential source of actionable forensic information, provided that its interpretative boundaries are clearly defined. Evidence-based forensic interpretation guidelines for different discordance patterns and standardized practice recommendations for diatom testing are provided, including reporting organ-specific diatom profiles, evaluating tissue barrier integrity, and implementing strict blank controls. This framework is presented as a testable hypothesis consistent with recent systematic reviews on diatom test interpretation and provides a theoretical basis for the urgent standardization of forensic diatom testing, enhancing the scientific validity of drowning diagnosis and site inference in medico-legal practice.

PMID:
42566033
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 07 Aug 2026.

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