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                            Library & Multimedia
 A microbial clock provides an accurate estimate of the postmortem interval in a mouse model system
NCJ Number
              255738
Journal

*ELife* Volume: Online Dated: 2013
Author(s)
          Jessica L. Metcalf;
                        Laura Wegener Parfrey;
                        Antonio Gonzalez;
                        Christian L. Lauber;
                        Dan Knights;
                        Gail Ackermann;
                        Gregory C. Humphrey;
                        Matthew J. Gebert;
                        Will Van Treuren;
                        Donna Berg-Lyons;
                        Kyle Keepers;
                        Yan Guo;
                        James Bullard;
                        Noah Fierer;
                        David O. Carter;
                        Rob Knight
Date Published

2013
Annotation
              This article examinesthe use of bacterial and microbial eukaryotic ecology in establishing time since death in death investigations.
Abstract
              Establishing the time since death is critical in every death investigation, yet existing techniques are susceptible to a range of errors and biases. For example, forensic entomology is widely used to assess the postmortem interval (PMI), but errors can range from days to months. Microbes may provide a novel method for estimating PMI that avoids many of these limitations. Here the authors show that postmortem microbial community changes are dramatic, measurable, and repeatable in a mouse model system, allowing PMI to be estimated within approximately 3 days over 48 days. The authors’ results provide a detailed understanding of bacterial and microbial eukaryotic ecology within a decomposing corpse system and suggest that microbial community data can be developed into a forensic tool for estimating PMI. (Published Abstract Provided)
      
  
          Additional Details
Grant Number(s)
        2011-DN-BX-K533


  
  
        
  Agencies
        NIJ-Sponsored


  
  
        
  Publication Type
        Research (Applied/Empirical)


  
  
        
  Award
        Characterization of Bacterial and Fungal Communities Associated with Corpse Decomposition Using Next Generation Sequencing
    
  
  
Date Published: January 1, 2013
    
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