The Decomposition Ecology and Microbial Forensics of the Postmortem Microbiome

Abstract

Every living organism dies and is decomposed into nutrients and by-products. This is lead initially by the normal flora of the newly deceased host. The postmortem microbiome, so-called “necrobiome”, undergoes temporal changes affected by the environment in the carcass. The increased data on the necrobiome is fueled by recent advances in genome sequencing analysis techniques. Metagenome sequencing analyzes temporal changes in a population. Genotypic information elucidates identity, structural, and functional traits across a biome. Initially, the necrobiome is composed of taxa common to the living tissue. As decomposition progresses, new and unique taxa emerge. Those suited for growth in the specific environment become dominant. Alpha diversity, beta diversity, and community traits are used to analyze the necrobiome. The necrobiome has potential for forensic evidence predictions. This review covers the succession of the necrobiome specific to body location, their effect on the decomposing carcass, and potential forensics uses of the necrobiome.