Ricchezze Giulia, Buratti Erika, De Micco Francesco, Cingolani Mariano, Scendoni Roberto
Department of Law, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Macerata, 62100 Macerata, Italy.
Research Unit of Bioethics and Humanities, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Roma, Italy.
Microorganisms. 2024 Nov 25;12(12):2424. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms12122424.
Microbiome has recently seen an increase in its forensic applications. It could be employed to identify a suspect when DNA is not available; it can be used to establish postmortem interval (PMI). Furthermore, it could prove to be fundamental in cases of sexual assault. One of the most interesting aspects to study is how microbiomes are transferred. The aim of this review is to analyze the existing literature focusing on the potential transfer of microbiome from humans to environment. Searches on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science identified a total of 348 articles. Furthermore, from the bibliographies of the included articles, an additional publication was selected, in accordance with the established inclusion and exclusion criteria. This study has shown the potential of utilizing microbiomes as trace evidence, particularly in connecting individuals to specific environments or objects. However, the variability and dynamics of microbial transfer and persistence need to be carefully addressed.
微生物组在法医领域的应用近来有所增加。在无法获取DNA时，它可用于识别嫌疑人；可用于确定死后间隔时间（PMI）。此外，在性侵犯案件中它可能会发挥重要作用。最值得研究的方面之一是微生物组如何转移。本综述的目的是分析现有文献，重点关注微生物组从人类向环境的潜在转移。在PubMed、Scopus和科学网进行检索，共识别出348篇文章。此外，根据既定的纳入和排除标准，从所纳入文章的参考文献中又挑选出一篇出版物。这项研究表明了利用微生物组作为微量证据的潜力，特别是在将个人与特定环境或物体联系起来方面。然而，微生物转移和持久性的变异性和动态性需要仔细研究。
