A microbial clock provides an accurate estimate of the postmortem interval in a mouse model system.

Metcalf JL ; Wegener Parfrey L ; Gonzalez A ; Lauber CL ; Knights D ; Ackermann G ; Humphrey GC ; Gebert MJ ; Van Treuren W ; Berg-Lyons D ; Keepers K ; Guo Y ; Bullard J ; Fierer N ; Carter DO ; Knight R.

关键词: Mouse;    decomposition;    forensics;    microbial ecology;    microbial succession;    postmortem interval;    time since death;   

Others  :  24137541
DOI  :  10.7554/eLife.01104.

学科分类：分子生物学，细胞生物学和基因

【 摘 要 】

Establishing the time since death is critical in every death investigation, yet existing techniques are susceptible to a range of errors and biases. For example, forensic entomology is widely used to assess the postmortem interval (PMI), but errors can range from days to months. Microbes may provide a novel method for estimating PMI that avoids many of these limitations. Here we show that postmortem microbial community changes are dramatic, measurable, and repeatable in a mouse model system, allowing PMI to be estimated within approximately 3 days over 48 days. Our results provide a detailed understanding of bacterial and microbial eukaryotic ecology within a decomposing corpse system and suggest that microbial community data can be developed into a forensic tool for estimating PMI. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01104.001.