The Impact of the Human Microbiome and Proteome in Forensic Science

Dear Colleagues,

Numerous studies relate differences in microbial communities to human health and disease. However, little is known about microbial changes that occur postmortem or the possible applications of microbiome and proteome analysis in the field of forensic science.

The human microbiota is a highly dynamic system that can be affected by many factors, including spatial and temporal components, which are critical because they are associated with factors such as age, sex, life habits, geographical location, occupation, or interaction with other people. From a forensic point of view, microorganisms are essential for their role in the process of cadaveric decomposition. Additionally, microorganisms can provide evidence in many different forensic scenarios, including investigations into sexual assault when there is no other type of evidence available. Given the enormous forensic potential presented by microbial analysis, there is a need to develop standardized operating procedures for the collection, analysis, and interpretation of microbial evidence, as well as to create solid and complete databases for full implementation in the forensic context, thus allowing the use of microorganisms as auxiliary evidence in criminal cases, to clarify the causes of death, provide identification and geolocation information or to estimate the postmortem interval, among other uses. Several studies point to a promising future for microbiome analysis in the different fields of forensic science, opening up an important new area of research.

On the other hand, in recent years, the proteome has a great potential in both clinical and forensic research. In many circumstances, death’s causes cannot be precisely defined by the circumstances, date of death, or the lack of markers that facilitate clinical practice. The postmortem variation of proteins involved in vital cascades could be of great help in determining the cause of death and even the postmortem interval.

Dr. Isabel Legaz Pérez
Dr. Mº Dolores Pérez Cárceles
Topic Editors