Trace Evidence Potential in Postmortem Skin Microbiomes: From Death Scene to Morgue† ‡
Whitney A. Kodama M.S.
City and County of Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner, 835 Iwilei Street, Honolulu, 96817 HI
Laboratory of Forensic Taphonomy, Forensic Sciences Unit, Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade University of Honolulu, 3140 Waialae Avenue, Honolulu, 96816 HI
Authors contributed equally.Search for more papers by this authorZhenjiang Xu Ph.D
School of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, 235 Nanjing East Road, Nanchang City, Jiangxi, Nanchang, China
State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, 235 Nanjing East Road, Nanchang City, Jiangxi, Nanchang, China
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, 92093 CA
Authors contributed equally.Search for more papers by this authorJessica L. Metcalf Ph.D
Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, 350 W. Pitkin Street, Ft. Collins, 80523-1171 CO
Authors contributed equally.Search for more papers by this authorSe Jin Song Ph.D
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, 92093 CA
Search for more papers by this authorNicholas Harrison M.F.S.
Laboratory of Forensic Taphonomy, Forensic Sciences Unit, Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade University of Honolulu, 3140 Waialae Avenue, Honolulu, 96816 HI
Search for more papers by this authorRob Knight Ph.D.
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, 92093 CA
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, 92093 CA
Center for Microbiome Innovation, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, 92093-0403 CA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
David O. Carter Ph.D.
Laboratory of Forensic Taphonomy, Forensic Sciences Unit, Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade University of Honolulu, 3140 Waialae Avenue, Honolulu, 96816 HI
Corresponding author: David O. Carter, Ph.D. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorChristopher B. Happy M.D.
City and County of Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner, 835 Iwilei Street, Honolulu, 96817 HI
Search for more papers by this authorWhitney A. Kodama M.S.
City and County of Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner, 835 Iwilei Street, Honolulu, 96817 HI
Laboratory of Forensic Taphonomy, Forensic Sciences Unit, Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade University of Honolulu, 3140 Waialae Avenue, Honolulu, 96816 HI
Authors contributed equally.Search for more papers by this authorZhenjiang Xu Ph.D
School of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, 235 Nanjing East Road, Nanchang City, Jiangxi, Nanchang, China
State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, 235 Nanjing East Road, Nanchang City, Jiangxi, Nanchang, China
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, 92093 CA
Authors contributed equally.Search for more papers by this authorJessica L. Metcalf Ph.D
Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, 350 W. Pitkin Street, Ft. Collins, 80523-1171 CO
Authors contributed equally.Search for more papers by this authorSe Jin Song Ph.D
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, 92093 CA
Search for more papers by this authorNicholas Harrison M.F.S.
Laboratory of Forensic Taphonomy, Forensic Sciences Unit, Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade University of Honolulu, 3140 Waialae Avenue, Honolulu, 96816 HI
Search for more papers by this authorRob Knight Ph.D.
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, 92093 CA
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, 92093 CA
Center for Microbiome Innovation, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, 92093-0403 CA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
David O. Carter Ph.D.
Laboratory of Forensic Taphonomy, Forensic Sciences Unit, Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade University of Honolulu, 3140 Waialae Avenue, Honolulu, 96816 HI
Corresponding author: David O. Carter, Ph.D. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorChristopher B. Happy M.D.
City and County of Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner, 835 Iwilei Street, Honolulu, 96817 HI
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Microbes can be used effectively as trace evidence, at least in research settings. However, it is unknown whether skin microbiomes change prior to autopsy and, if so, whether these changes interfere with linking objects to decedents. The current study included microbiomes from 16 scenes of death in the City and County of Honolulu and tested whether objects at the scenes can be linked to individual decedents. Postmortem skin microbiomes were stable during repeated sampling up to 60 h postmortem and were similar to microbiomes of an antemortem population. Objects could be traced to decedents approximately 75% of the time, with smoking pipes and medical devices being especially accurate (100% match), house and car keys being poor (0%), and other objects like phones intermediate (~80%). These results show that microbes from objects at death scenes can be matched to individual decedents, opening up a new method of establishing associations and identifications.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| jfo13949-sup-0001-FigS1.pdfPDF document, 1.7 MB | Figure S1. (A) Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) plot based on unweighted UniFrac of microbiome samples collected from the palm of deceased individuals (medium spheres), personal objects (large spheres), and the plastic sheets in which their remains were stored (tiny spheres). Each color represents one of 16 death scenes throughout the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. (B) PCoA plot based on unweighted UniFrac of microbiome samples collected from the palms of living (large green spheres) or deceased (colored by death scene) throughout the City and County of Honolulu. |
| jfo13949-sup-0002-TableS1.docxWord document, 26.2 KB | Table S1. List of objects and surfaces swabbed at death scenes in the City and County of Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii where Y indicates a correct association between palm and object/surface microbiome and N indicates an incorrect association between palm and object/surface microbiome. Two letters (e.g., NN, NY, YY) indicates the results when two similar objects/surfaces were swabbed at a scene. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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