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                            Library & Multimedia
 Microbiome Tools for Forensic Science
NCJ Number
              304195

Author(s)
          Jessica L. Metcalf;
                        et al
Date Published

2017
Length
              10 pages
Annotation
              This article reports on trends in the use of microbiome tools for forensic science.
Abstract
              Microbes have been used as physical evidence for over a century. With recent advances in microbiome science, new opportunities exist for microbiome technologies in forensic science, particularly in the areas of estimating postmortem intervals (PMIs), location of clandestine graves, and soil and skin trace evidence. Integrating microbiome and metabolomic data sets has the potential to improve our predictive ability, thereby lowering error rates, which is key to establishing new methods for the criminal justice system. Low-cost, high-throughput technologies allow us to accumulate data quickly and to apply sophisticated machine-learning algorithms, building generalizable predictive models. Microbes are present at every crime scene and have been used as physical evidence for over a century. Advances in DNA sequencing and computational approaches have led to recent breakthroughs in the use of microbiome approaches for forensic science, particularly in the areas of estimating postmortem intervals (PMIs), locating clandestine graves, and obtaining soil and skin trace evidence. Low-cost, high-throughput technologies allow us to accumulate molecular data quickly and to apply sophisticated machine-learning algorithms, building generalizable predictive models that will be useful in the criminal justice system; particularly, integrating microbiome and metabolomic data has excellent potential to advance microbial forensics. (publisher abstract modified)
      
  
          Additional Details
Grant Number(s)
        2011-DN-BX-K533
                                2012-DN-BX-K023
                                2014-R2-CX-K411
                                2014-R2-CX-K011
                                2015-DN-BX-K016
                                2015-DN-BX-K047
                                2016-DN-BX-4194
                                2016-DN-BX-0194


  
  
        
  Agencies
        NIJ-Sponsored


  
  
        
  Award
        Characterization of Bacterial and Fungal Communities Associated with Corpse Decomposition Using Next Generation Sequencing
                                Human decomposition: A mosaic model for community succession and implications for future forensic research
                                Improving Estimates of the Postmortem Interval with Metagenomics and Metabolomics
                                Evaluating the Skin Microbiome as Trace Evidence
                                Microbial Clocks for Estimating the Postmortem Interval of Human Remains at Three Anthropological Research Facilities
                                Forensic Identification Using Individual Chemical Signatures
                                Habitat Specialization and the Evolution of Dispersal
                                Evaluating the Skin Microbiome ad Trace Evidence
    
  
  
Date Published: January 1, 2017
    
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