Retrieving forensic information about the donor through bacterial profiling

Phan, K; Barash, M; Spindler, X; Gunn, P; Roux, C

Retrieving forensic information about the donor through bacterial profiling

Phan, K Barash, M

Spindler, X

Gunn, P

Roux, C

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2020, 134 (1), pp. 21 - 29
Issue Date:: 2020-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Phan, K	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Barash, M https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5445-6316	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Spindler, X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6379-351X	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Gunn, P https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3987-0447	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Roux, C https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3610-420X	en_US
dc.date.available	2019-04-15	en_US
dc.date.issued	2020-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2020, 134 (1), pp. 21 - 29	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0937-9827	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/133586
dc.description.abstract	© 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. When fingermarks are left on a surface, bacteria originating from the donor’s skin are also deposited. The skin microbiome is believed to be extremely diverse between individuals, allowing for potential matching between the bacterial communities and touched objects, known as “bacterial profiling”. This study stepped further and investigated how the bacterial profile could be used as an indicator of donor characteristics of potential forensic intelligence interest. Forty-five participants were asked to touch DNA-free playing cards with their dominant and non-dominant hands. Cards were swabbed and bacterial communities determined through 16S rRNA sequencing. Diversity and abundance of bacteria were compared to donor characteristics of gender, age, ethnicity, handedness, home location, sample location, occupation, diet type, use of moisturisers, use of hand sanitisers and use of public transport. Correlations between the bacterial profile with gender, ethnicity, diet type and hand sanitiser use were found. Specifically, the absence of Lactococcus indicated a primarily Chinese diet, while the absence of Alloiococcus indicated female gender, Asian ethnicity and hand sanitiser use. Testing of the prediction models demonstrated highest accuracy for gender estimation, while the prediction of other characteristics showed lower success. This study showed a correlation between the presence of certain bacterial species on donor’s hands and personal characteristics of potential forensic relevance, thus demonstrating a novel application of microbiome genotyping in forensic science.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	International Journal of Legal Medicine	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s00414-019-02069-2	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Legal & Forensic Medicine	en_US
dc.title	Retrieving forensic information about the donor through bacterial profiling	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	134	en_US
utslib.for	0399 Other Chemical Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	0699 Other Biological Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	1103 Clinical Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CFS - Centre for Forensic Science
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	134	en_US

Abstract:

© 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. When fingermarks are left on a surface, bacteria originating from the donor’s skin are also deposited. The skin microbiome is believed to be extremely diverse between individuals, allowing for potential matching between the bacterial communities and touched objects, known as “bacterial profiling”. This study stepped further and investigated how the bacterial profile could be used as an indicator of donor characteristics of potential forensic intelligence interest. Forty-five participants were asked to touch DNA-free playing cards with their dominant and non-dominant hands. Cards were swabbed and bacterial communities determined through 16S rRNA sequencing. Diversity and abundance of bacteria were compared to donor characteristics of gender, age, ethnicity, handedness, home location, sample location, occupation, diet type, use of moisturisers, use of hand sanitisers and use of public transport. Correlations between the bacterial profile with gender, ethnicity, diet type and hand sanitiser use were found. Specifically, the absence of Lactococcus indicated a primarily Chinese diet, while the absence of Alloiococcus indicated female gender, Asian ethnicity and hand sanitiser use. Testing of the prediction models demonstrated highest accuracy for gender estimation, while the prediction of other characteristics showed lower success. This study showed a correlation between the presence of certain bacterial species on donor’s hands and personal characteristics of potential forensic relevance, thus demonstrating a novel application of microbiome genotyping in forensic science.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/133586