Microbiome Forensic Biobanking: A Step toward Microbial Profiling for Forensic Human Identification

Caenazzo, Luciana; Tozzo, Pamela

doi:10.3390/healthcare9101371

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…In addition to the technical challenges, which need to adapt methods developed and standardized for clinical purposes in the forensic sciences landscape, there are still many uncertainties about the real applicability of these techniques to real casework and in daily forensic practice. Albeit with some limitations that undermine the standardization and dissemination of these techniques, we can hope for the creation of new microbiome databases to be used, first, for research, and subsequently for real applications in the forensic field [ 75 ], as for other -omics sciences [ 76 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-Mortem Interval and Microbiome Analysis through 16S rRNA Analysis: A Systematic Review

et al. 2022

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The determination of the Post-Mortem Interval (PMI) is an issue that has always represented a challenge in the field of forensic science. Different innovative approaches, compared to the more traditional ones, have been tried over the years, without succeeding in being validated as successful methods for PMI estimation. In the last two decades, innovations in sequencing technologies have made it possible to generate large volumes of data, allowing all members of a bacterial community to be sequenced. The aim of this manuscript is to provide a review regarding new advances in PMI estimation through cadaveric microbiota identification using 16S rRNA sequencing, in order to correlate specific microbiome profiles obtained from different body sites to PMI. The systematic review was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. For this purpose, 800 studies were identified through database searching (Pubmed). Articles that dealt with PMI estimation in correlation with microbiome composition and contained data about species, body site of sampling, monitoring time and sequencing method were selected and ultimately a total of 25 studies were considered. The selected studies evaluated the contribution of the various body sites to determine PMI, based on microbiome sequencing, in human and animal models. The results of this systematic review highlighted that studies conducted on both animals and humans yielded results that were promising. In order to fully exploit the potential of the microbiome in the estimation of PMI, it would be desirable to identify standardized body sampling sites and specific sampling methods in order to align data obtained by different research groups.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-Mortem Interval and Microbiome Analysis through 16S rRNA Analysis: A Systematic Review

et al. 2022

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“…Since human identification is, by nature, comparative, the application of these new methodologies could be especially useful in investigative cases where there are no potential suspects and there is no correspondence between the DNA sample collected and the genetic profiles entered in the criminal database. The recent technological advance has included the analysis of the microbiome for identification purposes among the new investigative tools available to the researcher [13,36,37]. This is motivated by the fact that, through microbiome prediction starting from biological samples found at the crime scene, probabilistic information may be acquired as to the same characteristics of the donor, such as past exposures; visits to other countries; predisposition to certain medical conditions; sexual practices; diet; and consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs [13,38].…”

Section: Potential Use Of Biobanks For Forensic and Research Purposesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The recent technological advance has included the analysis of the microbiome for identification purposes among the new investigative tools available to the researcher [13,36,37]. This is motivated by the fact that, through microbiome prediction starting from biological samples found at the crime scene, probabilistic information may be acquired as to the same characteristics of the donor, such as past exposures; visits to other countries; predisposition to certain medical conditions; sexual practices; diet; and consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs [13,38]. The combination of these elements, therefore, narrows the circle of possible perpetrators and promotes investigations, integrating information into the other evidence.…”

Section: Potential Use Of Biobanks For Forensic and Research Purposesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, if the primary objective of personalized medicine is to identify the most effective therapies for the individual patient [12], today, its development is also possible thanks to biomedical research, which uses biobanks as a huge resource of genomic data that are linked to individual health and personal data (i.e., lifestyle, eating habits, physical activity, income, etc.) [12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biobanks: Archives or Resources? Their Secondary Use for Forensic Purposes—A Systematic Review

Sguazzi,

Fasani,

Renò

et al. 2024

Forensic Sciences

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Since the biobanks’ inception in 1980, millions of human biological samples have been stored worldwide for medical research or treatment purposes. Today the secondary use of biobanks plays an increasingly important role in research projects because it allows large-scale research starting from professional collections of biospecimens and related clinical data. It would be limiting, in the “-omics” era, to not consider the enormous potential value to law enforcement of these biospecimens, where the availability of high-performance techniques makes it possible to obtain a large amount of data, even within a single session. Therefore, the quality of the sample, in addition to the associated clinical information, becomes of crucial importance to derive scientifically valid information, including for forensic research purposes. Proposing the introduction of the concept of “solidarity”, traditionally applied only to medical and research biobanks, led to public commitment to forensic medicine. Granting the forensic researcher this possibility certainly raises some questions regarding regulatory and ethical aspects of consent, privacy, confidentiality, transparency, and participant/donor trust. Since the debate has not stopped since the origin of biobanks, this review aims to explore the state of the art relating to the use of human biological material in medical biobanks for biomedical and forensic research.

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“…Overall, although promising, the level of accuracy of these microbiome “fingerprints” is yet inadequate for forensic applications. Improvements in statistical methods, in model’s specificity/sensitivity, and in determining the microbial diversity variation across body sites and time, besides the availability of public biobanks describing a “core microbiome” among humans, are necessary for their actual effectiveness in forensic situations ( Caenazzo and Tozzo, 2021 ).…”

Section: Metagenomicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applications of massively parallel sequencing in forensic genetics

et al. 2022

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Massively parallel sequencing, also referred to as next-generation sequencing, has positively changed DNA analysis, allowing further advances in genetics. Its capability of dealing with low quantity/damaged samples makes it an interesting instrument for forensics. The main advantage of MPS is the possibility of analyzing simultaneously thousands of genetic markers, generating high-resolution data. Its detailed sequence information allowed the discovery of variations in core forensic short tandem repeat loci, as well as the identification of previous unknown polymorphisms. Furthermore, different types of markers can be sequenced in a single run, enabling the emergence of DIP-STRs, SNP-STR haplotypes, and microhaplotypes, which can be very useful in mixture deconvolution cases. In addition, the multiplex analysis of different single nucleotide polymorphisms can provide valuable information about identity, biogeographic ancestry, paternity, or phenotype. DNA methylation patterns, mitochondrial DNA, mRNA, and microRNA profiling can also be analyzed for different purposes, such as age inference, maternal lineage analysis, body-fluid identification, and monozygotic twin discrimination. MPS technology also empowers the study of metagenomics, which analyzes genetic material from a microbial community to obtain information about individual identification, post-mortem interval estimation, geolocation inference, and substrate analysis. This review aims to discuss the main applications of MPS in forensic genetics.

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Microbiome Forensic Biobanking: A Step toward Microbial Profiling for Forensic Human Identification

Cited by 7 publications

References 53 publications

Post-Mortem Interval and Microbiome Analysis through 16S rRNA Analysis: A Systematic Review

Post-Mortem Interval and Microbiome Analysis through 16S rRNA Analysis: A Systematic Review

Biobanks: Archives or Resources? Their Secondary Use for Forensic Purposes—A Systematic Review

Applications of massively parallel sequencing in forensic genetics

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