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                            Library & Multimedia
 Microbial Community Assembly and Metabolic Function During Mammalian Corpse Decomposition
NCJ Number
              249577
Journal

*Science* Volume: 351 Issue: 6269 Dated: January 8, 2016 Pages: 158-162
Author(s)
          Jessica L. Metcalf;
                        Zhenjiang Zech Xu;
                        Sophie Weiss;
                        Simon Lax;
                        Will Van Treuren;
                        Embriette R. Hyde;
                        Se Jin Song;
                        Amnon Amir;
                        Peter Larsen;
                        Daniel Haarmann;
                        Greg C. Humphrey;
                        Gail Ackermann;
                        Luke R. Thompson;
                        Christian Lauber;
                        Alexander Bibat;
                        Catherine Nicholas;
                        Matthew J. Gebert;
                        Joseph F. Petrosino;
                        Sasha C. Reed;
                        Jack A. Gilbert;
                        Aaron M. Lynne;
                        Sibyl R. Bucheli;
                        David O. Carter;
                        Rob Knight
Date Published

January 2016
Length
              5 pages
Annotation
              This study combined deep microbial community characterization, community-level metabolic reconstruction, and soil biogeochemical assessment to understand principles governing microbial community assembly during decomposition of mouse and human corpses on different soil substrates.
Abstract
              The death of a large animal represents a food bonanza for microorganisms. The authors monitored microbial activity during the decomposition of mouse and human cadavers. Regardless of soil type, season, or species, the microbial succession during decomposition was a predictable measure of time since death. An overlying corpse leaches nutrients that allow soil- and insect-associated fungi and bacteria to grow. These microorganisms are metabolic specialists that convert proteins and lipids into foul-smelling compounds such as cadaverine, putrescine, and ammonia, whose signature may persist in the soil long after a corpse has been removed. Vertebrate corpse decomposition provides an important stage in nutrient cycling in most terrestrial habitats, yet microbially mediated processes are poorly understood. The current study identified a suite of bacterial and fungal groups contributing to nitrogen cycling and a reproducible network of decomposers that emerge on predictable timescales. The results show this decomposer community is derived primarily from bulk soil, but key decomposers are ubiquitous in low abundance. Soil type was not a dominant factor driving community development and the process of decomposition is sufficiently reproducible that it offers unique opportunities for forensic investigations. (Publisher abstract modified)
      
  
          Additional Details
Grant Number(s)
        2012-DN-BX-K023


  
  
        
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        Human decomposition: A mosaic model for community succession and implications for future forensic research
    
  
  
Date Published: January 1, 2016
    
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      PatentsRelated Topics
        
                Corpses
        Medicolegal death investigations
        Forensic sciences
        Postmortem interval
        Decomposition



  
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