Evaluation of the Microbiome Identification of Forensically Relevant Biological Fluids: A Pilot Study
In forensic sciences, body fluids, or biological traces, are a major source of information, and their identification can play a decisive role in criminal investigations. Currently, the nature of biological fluids is assessed using immunological, physico-chemical, mRNA and epigenetic methods, but the...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Diagnostics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/14/2/187 |
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| author | Audrey Gouello Laura Henry Djamel Chadli Florian Salipante Joséphine Gibert Adeline Boutet-Dubois Jean-Philippe Lavigne |
| author_facet | Audrey Gouello Laura Henry Djamel Chadli Florian Salipante Joséphine Gibert Adeline Boutet-Dubois Jean-Philippe Lavigne |
| author_sort | Audrey Gouello |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In forensic sciences, body fluids, or biological traces, are a major source of information, and their identification can play a decisive role in criminal investigations. Currently, the nature of biological fluids is assessed using immunological, physico-chemical, mRNA and epigenetic methods, but these have limits in terms of sensitivity and specificity. The emergence of next-generation sequencing technologies offers new opportunities to identify the nature of body fluids by determining bacterial communities. The aim of this pilot study was to assess whether analysis of the bacterial communities in isolated and mixed biological fluids could reflect the situation observed in real forensics labs. Several samples commonly encountered in forensic sciences were tested from healthy volunteers: saliva, vaginal fluid, blood, semen and skin swabs. These samples were analyzed alone or in combination in a ratio of 1:1. Sequencing was performed on the Ion Gene Studio<sup>TM</sup> S5 automated sequencer. Fluids tested alone revealed a typical bacterial signature with specific bacterial orders, enabling formal identification of the fluid of interest, despite inter-individual variations. However, in biological fluid mixtures, the predominance of some bacterial microbiomes inhibited interpretation. Oral and vaginal microbiomes were clearly preponderant, and the relative abundance of their bacterial communities and/or the presence of common species between samples made it impossible to detect bacterial orders or genera from other fluids, although they were distinguishable from one another. However, using the beta diversity, salivary fluids were identified and could be distinguished from fluids in combination. While this method of fluid identification is promising, further analyses are required to consolidate the protocol and ensure reliability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:00:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e731f70a43ea486b86aa0e7a89e45973 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4418 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:00:38Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diagnostics |
| spelling | doaj.art-e731f70a43ea486b86aa0e7a89e459732024-01-26T16:01:43ZengMDPI AGDiagnostics2075-44182024-01-0114218710.3390/diagnostics14020187Evaluation of the Microbiome Identification of Forensically Relevant Biological Fluids: A Pilot StudyAudrey Gouello0Laura Henry1Djamel Chadli2Florian Salipante3Joséphine Gibert4Adeline Boutet-Dubois5Jean-Philippe Lavigne6Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale, 95000 Cergy-Pontoise, FranceInstitut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale, 95000 Cergy-Pontoise, FranceInstitut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale, 95000 Cergy-Pontoise, FranceService de Biostatistiques, Epidémiologie, Santé Publique et Innovation en Méthodologie, Université Montpellier, CHU Nîmes, 30029 Nîmes, FranceInstitut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale, 95000 Cergy-Pontoise, FranceVBIC, INSERM U1047, Université Montpellier, Service de Microbiologie et Hygiène Hospitalière, CHU Nîmes, 30908 Nîmes, FranceVBIC, INSERM U1047, Université Montpellier, Service de Microbiologie et Hygiène Hospitalière, CHU Nîmes, 30908 Nîmes, FranceIn forensic sciences, body fluids, or biological traces, are a major source of information, and their identification can play a decisive role in criminal investigations. Currently, the nature of biological fluids is assessed using immunological, physico-chemical, mRNA and epigenetic methods, but these have limits in terms of sensitivity and specificity. The emergence of next-generation sequencing technologies offers new opportunities to identify the nature of body fluids by determining bacterial communities. The aim of this pilot study was to assess whether analysis of the bacterial communities in isolated and mixed biological fluids could reflect the situation observed in real forensics labs. Several samples commonly encountered in forensic sciences were tested from healthy volunteers: saliva, vaginal fluid, blood, semen and skin swabs. These samples were analyzed alone or in combination in a ratio of 1:1. Sequencing was performed on the Ion Gene Studio<sup>TM</sup> S5 automated sequencer. Fluids tested alone revealed a typical bacterial signature with specific bacterial orders, enabling formal identification of the fluid of interest, despite inter-individual variations. However, in biological fluid mixtures, the predominance of some bacterial microbiomes inhibited interpretation. Oral and vaginal microbiomes were clearly preponderant, and the relative abundance of their bacterial communities and/or the presence of common species between samples made it impossible to detect bacterial orders or genera from other fluids, although they were distinguishable from one another. However, using the beta diversity, salivary fluids were identified and could be distinguished from fluids in combination. While this method of fluid identification is promising, further analyses are required to consolidate the protocol and ensure reliability.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/14/2/187bacterial communitiesbiological fluidsforensicsidentificationmetagenomicmicrobiomes |
| spellingShingle | Audrey Gouello Laura Henry Djamel Chadli Florian Salipante Joséphine Gibert Adeline Boutet-Dubois Jean-Philippe Lavigne Evaluation of the Microbiome Identification of Forensically Relevant Biological Fluids: A Pilot Study Diagnostics bacterial communities biological fluids forensics identification metagenomic microbiomes |
| title | Evaluation of the Microbiome Identification of Forensically Relevant Biological Fluids: A Pilot Study |
| title_full | Evaluation of the Microbiome Identification of Forensically Relevant Biological Fluids: A Pilot Study |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of the Microbiome Identification of Forensically Relevant Biological Fluids: A Pilot Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of the Microbiome Identification of Forensically Relevant Biological Fluids: A Pilot Study |
| title_short | Evaluation of the Microbiome Identification of Forensically Relevant Biological Fluids: A Pilot Study |
| title_sort | evaluation of the microbiome identification of forensically relevant biological fluids a pilot study |
| topic | bacterial communities biological fluids forensics identification metagenomic microbiomes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/14/2/187 |
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