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Review
. 2018 Dec;102(24):10377-10391.
doi: 10.1007/s00253-018-9414-6. Epub 2018 Oct 9.

Microbial forensics: new breakthroughs and future prospects

Manuela Oliveira  1   2   3 , António Amorim  4   5   6
Affiliations
Review

Microbial forensics: new breakthroughs and future prospects

Manuela Oliveira et al. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2018 Dec.

Abstract

Recent advances in genetic data generation, through massive parallel sequencing (MPS), storage and analysis have fostered significant progresses in microbial forensics (or forensic microbiology). Initial applications in circumstances of biocrime, bioterrorism and epidemiology are now accompanied by the prospect of using microorganisms (i) as ancillary evidence in criminal cases; (ii) to clarify causes of death (e.g., drownings, toxicology, hospital-acquired infections, sudden infant death and shaken baby syndromes); (iii) to assist human identification (skin, hair and body fluid microbiomes); (iv) for geolocation (soil microbiome); and (v) to estimate postmortem interval (thanatomicrobiome and epinecrotic microbial community). When compared with classical microbiological methods, MPS offers a diverse range of advantages and alternative possibilities. However, prior to its implementation in the forensic context, critical efforts concerning the elaboration of standards and guidelines consolidated by the creation of robust and comprehensive reference databases must be undertaken.

Keywords: Criminal investigation; Genetics; Massive parallel sequencing; Microbial forensics; Microbiome.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Application of MF to answer criminal and legal questions
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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