Abstract
Microbial colonization of bone is an important mechanism of postmortem skeletal degradation. However, the types and distributions of bone and tooth colonizing microbes are not well characterized. It is unknown if microbial communities vary in abundance or composition between bone element types, which could help explain differences in human DNA preservation. The goals of the present study were to (1) identify the types of microbes capable of colonizing different human bone types and (2) relate microbial abundances, diversity, and community composition to bone type and human DNA preservation. DNA extracts from 165 bone and tooth samples from three skeletonized individuals were assessed for bacterial loading and microbial community composition and structure. Random forest models were applied to predict operational taxonomic units (OTUs) associated with human DNA concentration. Dominant bacterial bone colonizers were from the phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Planctomycetes. Eukaryotic bone colonizers were from Ascomycota, Apicomplexa, Annelida, Basidiomycota, and Ciliophora. Bacterial loading was not a significant predictor of human DNA concentration in two out of three individuals. Random forest models were minimally successful in identifying microbes related to human DNA concentration, which were complicated by high variability in community structure between individuals and body regions. This work expands on our understanding of the types of microbes capable of colonizing the postmortem human skeleton and potentially contributing to human skeletal DNA degradation.
Highlights
Human skeletonization occurs following the decomposition of skin and soft tissue, exposing the bones to the surrounding environment [1]
The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice (DOJ), National Science Foundation (NSF) or Bode Cellmark Forensics
Despite foot bones having some of the highest human DNA quantities, these corresponded with high bacterial gene abundances (Fig 1)
Summary
Human skeletonization occurs following the decomposition of skin and soft tissue, exposing the bones to the surrounding environment [1]. Once the body has progressed to a skeletonized. DOJ and NSF had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Bode Cellmark Forensics provided support in the form of salary for JD, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the DOJ, NSF or Bode Cellmark Forensics
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