This study examined the effects on postmortem microbiome of the thawing of the frozen bodies of two children that had been hidden in a freezer for an extended period.
Overall, the data produced show that the postmortem human microbiome changes during the thawing process, which has important forensic implications when bodies have been substantially altered, modified, and concealed after death. Previous postmortem microbiome studies have focused on characterizing taxa turnover during an undisturbed decomposition process. How coexisting conditions (e.g., frozen, buried, burned) affect the human microbiome at the time of discovery is less well understood. Microbiome data were collected from two pediatric cases at the Wayne County Medical Examiner in Michigan. The bodies were found frozen, hidden in a freezer for an extended time. Microbial communities were sampled from six external anatomic locations at three time points during the thawing process, prior to autopsy. The 16S rRNA V4 gene amplicon region was sequenced using high‐throughput sequencing (Illumina MiSeq). Microbial diversity increased, and there was a distinct shift in microbial community structure and abundance throughout the thawing process. (Publisher abstract modified)
Downloads
Similar Publications
- COVID-Related Financial Issues Experienced by Women-Identifying Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence
- Evaluating Cross-reactivity of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in Human Whole Blood by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
- Assessment of Performance Rates on the Elemental Comparison of Small and Irregular Glass Fragments Using μ-XRF and LIBS