Estimating the Time Since Deposition of Saliva Stains With a Targeted Bacterial DNA Approach: A Proof-of-Principle Study.

ABSTRACT: Information on the time when a stain was deposited at a crime scene can be valuable in forensic investigations. It can link a DNA-identified stain donor with a crime or provide a post-mortem interval estimation in cases with cadavers. The available methods for estimating stain deposition time have limitations of different types and magnitudes. In this proof-of-principle study we investigated for the first time the use of microbial DNA for this purpose in human saliva stains. First, we identified the most abundant and frequent bacterial species in saliva using publicly available 16S rRNA gene next generation sequencing (NGS) data from 1,848 samples. Next, we assessed time-dependent changes in 15 identified species using de-novo 16S rRNA gene NGS in the saliva stains of two individuals expos

SUBMITTER: Diez Lopez C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8206545 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature