Abstract
One of the goals of forensic science is to identify individuals and their lifestyle by analyzing the trace signatures left behind in built environments. Here, microbiome and metabolomic methods were used to see how its occupants used an office and to also gain insights into the lifestyle characteristics such as diet, medications, and personal care products of the occupants. 3D molecular cartography, a molecular visualization technology, was used in combination with mass spectrometry and microbial inventories to highlight human-environmental interactions. Molecular signatures were correlated with the individuals as well as their interactions with this indoor environment. There are person-specific chemical and microbial signatures associated with this environment that directly relate who had touched objects such as computers, computer mice, cell phones, desk phone, table or desks. By combining molecular and microbial investigation forensic strategies, this study offers novel insights to investigators who value the reconstructing of human lifestyle and characterization of human environmental interaction.
Highlights
Humans constantly interact with their environment and unintentionally leave behind a plethora of chemical and microbial traces[1,2]
In 3D molecular cartography, samples are collected across a space and the data is mapped using their coordinates of the 3D model
Using Global Natural Products Molecular Social networking[7] (GNPS), molecular networking was able to correlate office molecules and office object molecules with volunteer’s person or personal care products. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was used to inventory bacteria taxonomy across volunteers and the office. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing provides insights
Summary
Humans constantly interact with their environment and unintentionally leave behind a plethora of chemical and microbial traces[1,2] Many of these signatures are substantially dictated by their habits and lifestyle choices of the individual[3,4,5]. It is necessary to properly document and understand how to best utilize such information Solving this task has the potential to modernize forensic studies especially when correlating a particular individual to a surface or object within an environment is paramount to ‘solving a case’. LC-MS/MS was used to inventory the molecules in the room Such associations provide insights into the lifestyles of volunteers in the built environment. We demonstrate that SourceTracker V.19 can be used to identify the relationships between individuals and the overall molecular and microbial profiles observed in the environment
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