Microbial Forensics: Opportunities and Limitations

A special issue of Forensic Sciences (ISSN 2673-6756).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (14 March 2025) | Viewed by 1558

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. Associate Laboratory i4HB-Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, University Institute of Health Sciences, CESPU, Avenida Central de Gandra 1317, 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal
2. UCIBIO, Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences, Forensic Sciences Research Laboratory, University Institute of Health Sciences (1H-TOXRUN, IUCS-CESPU), Avenida Central de Gandra 1317, 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal
Interests: microbiology; microbial forensics; botany; botany forensic; molecular markers; genetics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to announce a Special Issue of the Forensic Sciences journal, ‘Microbial Forensics: Opportunities and Limitations’.

Microbial forensics, an emerging interdisciplinary field, has the potential to revolutionize forensic investigations, providing insights into a wide range of forensic cases, from tracking the source of bioterrorism agents to estimating post-mortem intervals. Despite its potential for supporting evidence in criminal investigations, this field remains underutilized.

Therefore, this Special Issue invites scholars to submit their original research articles, reviews, and case studies that explore the recent developments in the field of microbial forensics, highlighting novel methodologies, real-life cases, as well as potential applications and challenges. Interdisciplinary collaborations from researchers in microbiology, genetics, chemistry, forensic science, and related fields are welcome.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Manuela Oliveira
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forensic Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biocrime
  • bioterrorism
  • criminal investigations
  • forensic sciences
  • genetics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 8517 KiB  
Article
Linking Seasonal Temperature Variations with Laboratory-Derived Development Data for Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart): A Case for Myiasis
by Tharindu B. Bambaradeniya, Paola A. Magni and Ian R. Dadour
Forensic Sci. 2025, 5(1), 10; https://doi.org/10.3390/forensicsci5010010 - 17 Feb 2025
Viewed by 346
Abstract
Background: The aging of fly larvae is primarily determined by their temperature-dependent growth rates, a concept widely applied in forensic entomology to estimate the minimum postmortem interval using the accumulated degree day/hour (ADD/ADH) method. Method: This study adapted the same approach for veterinary [...] Read more.
Background: The aging of fly larvae is primarily determined by their temperature-dependent growth rates, a concept widely applied in forensic entomology to estimate the minimum postmortem interval using the accumulated degree day/hour (ADD/ADH) method. Method: This study adapted the same approach for veterinary entomology, offering insights into how accumulated degree day (ADD) can be used to estimate both the number and timing of fly generations in nature. This study details a method for identifying the pupation landmarks of Ch. rufifacies (Macquart) by characterising seven distinct pupal stages over time. Following this, ADD values were calculated for each life stage using developmental data collected from two types of ovine muscle: muscle with fat and muscle without fat, at two temperatures: 24 ± 1 °C for autumn and 30 ± 1 °C for summer, reflecting typical seasonal conditions in southwestern Australia. Results: This study also provided a graphical illustration of how to estimate the number of fly generations emerging during a season, based on daily temperature data from autumn and summer in southwestern Australia for the 2023/2024 period. Conclusions: This approach highlights the value of developmental data and ADD methods in veterinary entomology, offering a robust framework for understanding fly population dynamics for effective myiasis control strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Forensics: Opportunities and Limitations)
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