Forensic Microbiomics

Question 1

What are examples of forensic applications of microbiomics?

Answer 1

Geolocation / Soil microbiomes
Personal identification
Trace evidence
Manner and cause of death
Postmortem interval

Question 2

What is the meaning of a bioterrorism attack?

Answer 2

The scientific discipline dedicated to analysing evidence from a bioterrorism attack, bio crime or inadvertent microorganism/toxin release

Question 3

What are the limitations to bioterrorism?

Answer 3

Applications limited to individual taxa analyses
Lack of available and cost-effective sequencing technologies

Question 4

What are some of the solutions in the limitations to bioterrorism?

Answer 4

Advances in sequencing technologies
New methods for processing complex community datasets in low biomass samples
Advent of the microbiomics

Question 5

What is microbiomics?

Answer 5

The study of the microbiome and metagenomics

Question 6

Where can microbial profiles be used as in forensics?

Answer 6

As evidence or complement traditional investigative methods

Question 7

What is geolocation microbiota?

Answer 7

Characterisation of enviromental microbiome, such as urban environments and transit systems

Question 8

What is substrate analysis?

Answer 8

Microbial profiles from soil

Question 9

What can substrate analysis provide?

Answer 9

Biogeographical data to localise the origin of a soil sample

Question 10

What can substrate analysis determine?

Answer 10

The provenance of an item associated with a crime

Question 11

What does RISA stand for?

Answer 11

Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis

Question 12

What is 16s rRNA sequencing?

Answer 12

Techniques used to differentiate samples originating from a mixyure of different soil types

Question 13

How can the site of origin of soil from the sole of a shoe be matched?

Answer 13

By elucidated by comparing the similarity of soil 16rDNA profiles ising denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)

Question 14

What are the limitations of 16s profiles?

Answer 14

Complex samples and heterogeneity
Microbiomes show diversity in space and time
Actinobacterial fingerprints differ between two seasons at the same site
Plant communities and other abiotic factors could influence community patterns

Question 15

What is gravesoil?

Answer 15

Soil around human and non-human cadavers analysed metagenomically using 16s sequences

Question 16

What is thanatomicrobiome?

Answer 16

Postmortem microbial community of the human body

Question 17

How can personal identification be useful?

Answer 17

If sufficient amounts of human DNA cannot be retrieved

Question 18

Biological sex determination

Answer 18

microbiomics could be useful here agin where human DNA cannot be retrieved

Question 19

What personal objectives can postmortem microbes be associated with?

Answer 19

Medical devices, bottles, steering wheels

Question 20

What can microbial signatures be used to identify?

Answer 20

Bodily fluids

Question 21

How can microbiota be transferred?

Answer 21

By shaking hands or indirect contact

Question 22

What are the five manners of death?

Answer 22

Natural
Accidental
Suicidal
Homocide
Undetermined

Question 23

What are diatoms?

Answer 23

Phytoplankton that live in houses of glass

Question 24

What do diatoms determine?

Answer 24

The cause of death from drowning

Question 25

Are there different diatoms for different water types?

Answer 25

Yes someone will show a different diatom in freshwater then someone that drowned in sea water