Date of Award
2021
Publisher
North Dakota State University
Document Type
Master's Paper
Degree Awarded
Master of Science (MS)
Program
Microbiology
Department
Microbiological Sciences
College
Agriculture, Food Systems and Natural Resources
Faculty Advisor
Gibbs, Penelope
Description
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.
Recommended Citation
Ewald, Adam Patrick, "The Decomposition Ecology and Microbial Forensics of the Postmortem Microbiome" (2021). Microbiological Sciences. 27.
https://digitalcommons.ndsu.edu/microbiological-sci/27
Rights
NDSU policy 190.6.2
Rights Link
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf
Handle Identifier
https://hdl.handle.net/10365/32251