The Future Is Now: Unraveling the Expanding Potential of Human (Necro)Microbiome in Forensic Investigations

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 10; p. 2509
• Main Authors: Cláudia-Ferreira, Ana, Barbosa, Daniel José, Saegeman, Veroniek, Fernández-Rodríguez, Amparo, Dinis-Oliveira, Ricardo Jorge, Freitas, Ana R, On Behalf Of The Escmid Study Group Of Forensic And Post-Mortem Microbiology Esgfor
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-10-2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Bacteria; Biological & chemical terrorism; Biomarkers; Cadavers; Complexity; Criminal investigations; Decomposition; DNA sequencing; Environmental conditions; Evidence; Forensic science; Genomes; Machine learning; Medical jurisprudence; Metabolism; Metabolites; Microbiological research; Microbiology; microbiome; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Microorganisms; necrobiome; postmortem; Postmortem changes; Review; Robustness; Standardization; thanatomicrobiome; Workflow; Portugal; decomposition; bacteria; postmortem; microbiome; thanatomicrobiome; necrobiome
• ISSN: 2076-2607; 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11102509

The relevance of
microbiological examinations has been controversial for decades, but the boom in advanced sequencing techniques over the last decade is increasingly demonstrating their usefulness, namely for the estimation of the
interval. This comprehensive review aims to present the current knowledge about the human
microbiome (the necrobiome), highlighting the main factors influencing this complex process and discussing the principal applications in the field of forensic sciences. Several limitations still hindering the implementation of forensic microbiology, such as small-scale studies, the lack of a universal/harmonized workflow for DNA extraction and sequencing technology, variability in the human microbiome, and limited access to human cadavers, are discussed. Future research in the field should focus on identifying stable biomarkers within the dominant Bacillota and Pseudomonadota phyla, which are prevalent during
periods and for which standardization, method consolidation, and establishment of a forensic microbial bank are crucial for consistency and comparability. Given the complexity of identifying unique
microbial signatures for robust databases, a promising future approach may involve deepening our understanding of specific bacterial species/strains that can serve as reliable
interval indicators during the process of body decomposition. Microorganisms might have the potential to complement routine forensic tests in judicial processes, requiring robust investigations and machine-learning models to bridge knowledge gaps and adhere to Locard's principle of trace evidence.