Postmortem submersion interval (PMSI) estimation from the microbiome of Sus scrofa bone in a freshwater river

Postmortem submersion interval (PMSI) estimation from the microbiome of sus scrofa bone in a freshwater lake

“…The top five phyla identified from all skeletal elements include Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Spirochaetes, Bacteriodetes, and Acidobacteria, which reflect findings from previous studies on porcine remains in aquatic [23,24,26] and human remains in terrestrial [46,50] systems. Of these phyla, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes were identified as the majority in a shallow marine New Zealand inlet during autumn and winter [23] and in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania Conestoga River watershed, with the addition of Spirochaetes appearing during the winter trial [24].…”

“…Bacterial phylogenetic (i.e., alpha) diversity (PD) was observed to increase with ADD, which is similar to the increasing alpha diversity noted in an aquatic decomposition study of porcine skeletal remains in a freshwater river [26]. When compared to long-term terrestrial decomposition, the trend observed is similar to advanced stages of decay, where diversity increased during active and advanced decomposition after an initial decline after death (e.g., bloat…”

“…In terrestrial decomposition studies [15,17,19], Clostridiaceae and Clostridium (i.e., Firmicutes, Clostridia) have been reported and proposed to be a key contributor to decomposition. Clostridiaceae has also been recovered in both porcine terrestrial [58] and aquatic (e.g., James River) [26] decomposition in Virginia.…”

“…Models fit with scapula samples outperformed those fit with rib samples, which may be due to the missing observa- Spirochaetaceae was reported as an indicator family for one year salmon carcasses in epinecrotic communities [69] and for estimating PMSI from rib samples recovered from a freshwater river [26]. Meanwhile, Syntrophomonadaceae, Gram-positive bacteria that play an important role in fatty acid degradation [70], were reported as indicator families for both rib and scapula samples recovered from a freshwater river [26].…”

“…Also, the studies did not focus on long‐term PMSI estimation based on microbial community structure on skeletal remains. A recent paper by Cartozzo et al [26] addressed the aforementioned issues in a long‐term study in a Virginia freshwater river using skeletal remains. Therefore, this study expands on these limitations, and identifies the extent of microbial community structure, colonization, and succession patterns involved in a long‐term (5200 ADD, 579 days, 19 months) aquatic decomposition study, using well‐replicated and undisturbed porcine skeletal remains ( n = 198) in a Virginia freshwater lake.…”