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                            Library & Multimedia
 Sampling from four geographically divergent young female populations demonstrates forensic geolocation potential in microbiomes
NCJ Number
              305604
Journal

*Scientific Reports* Volume: 12 Dated: December 2022
Author(s)
          Thomas Clarke;
                        Lauren Brinkac;
                        Chris Greco;
                        Angela T. Alleyne;
                        Patricio Carrasco;
                        Carolina Inostroza;
                        Tiiseto Tau;
                        Wichaya Wisitrasameewong;
                        Manolito G. Torralba;
                        Karen Nelson;
                        Harinder Singh
Date Published

December 2022
Length
              10 pages
Annotation
              This article presents a sampling from four geographically divergent young female populations demonstrates forensic geolocation potential in microbiomes.
Abstract
              Studies of human microbiomes using new sequencing techniques have increasingly demonstrated that their ecologies are partly determined by the lifestyle and habits of individuals. As such, significant forensic information could be obtained from high throughput sequencing of the human microbiome. This approach, combined with multiple analytical techniques demonstrates that bacterial DNA can be used to uniquely identify an individual and to provide information about their life and behavioral patterns. However, the transformation of these findings into actionable forensic information, including the geolocation of the samples, remains limited by incomplete understanding of the effects of confounding factors and the paucity of diverse sequences. We obtained 16S rRNA sequences of stool and oral microbiomes collected from 206 young and healthy females from four globally diverse populations, in addition to supporting metadata, including dietary and medical information. Analysis of these microbiomes revealed detectable geolocation signals between the populations, even for populations living within the same city. Accounting for other lifestyle variables, such as diet and smoking, lessened but does not remove the geolocation signal. (Publisher abstract provided)
      
  
          Additional Details
Grant Number(s)
        2015-R2-CX-K036


  
  
        
  Agencies
        NIJ-Sponsored


  
  
        
  Publication Type
        Research (Applied/Empirical)


  
  
        
  Award
        Construction of the Forensic Microbiome Database with Enhanced GeoSourcing
    
  
  
Date Published: December 1, 2022
    
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      PatentsRelated Topics
        
                Forensic sciences
        Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes
        DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)
        Populations
        Microbiomes



  
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