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Microbiota fingerprints lose individually identifying features over time.

David Wilkins1, Marcus H Y Leung1, Patrick K H Lee2

  • 1School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, B5423-AC1, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China.

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|January 15, 2017
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Summary

Skin microbiota traces can identify individuals but degrade over time. Their forensic potential decreases as they change seasonally and lose unique features, unlike static fingerprints.

Keywords:
Built environmentForensicsMicrobiotaSkin microbiota

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Forensic Science
  • Human Microbiome

Background:

  • Human skin hosts unique microbiota, transferable to surfaces.
  • Microbiota traces offer potential forensic markers similar to fingerprints.
  • The persistence and forensic utility of skin microbiota on surfaces over time are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the persistence of skin and surface microbiota over four seasons.
  • To assess the accuracy of microbiota-based individual identification across different time delays and seasons.
  • To evaluate the forensic potential of skin microbiota as forensic markers.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of skin and surface microbiota within households over four seasons.
  • Analysis of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) persistence on skin and surfaces.
  • Assessment of matching accuracy between skin and surface microbiota samples.

Main Results:

  • Household surface microbiota matched occupants with 67% accuracy.
  • Matching accuracy significantly decreased with seasonal differences and longer time delays.
  • Most OTUs persisted for less than one season, with identifying OTUs having shorter persistence.

Conclusions:

  • Skin microbiota traces have forensic potential but are dynamic, unlike static fingerprints.
  • Microbiota degradation preferentially erases identifying features, limiting long-term forensic utility.
  • The longevity and identifying value of microbiota traces present a trade-off.