Soil microbiome
Definition
The total community of microorganisms inhabiting a soil sample. Each location has a characteristic baseline community shaped by climate, vegetation, and soil chemistry. Forensic soil microbiome analysis exploits the fact that this community shifts detectably when a body decomposes in the soil.
Related terms
- 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing
- A targeted sequencing approach that amplifies a variable region of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene, which acts as a universal phylogenetic...
- Cadaver decomposition island (CDI)
- The localised area of soil and vegetation altered by the decomposition fluids and gases released from a body. A CDI has a...
- Metagenomics
- The direct sequencing of all DNA extracted from an environmental sample, bypassing the need to culture individual organisms. It produces a community-wide...
- Post-mortem interval (PMI)
- The time elapsed between death and discovery or examination of remains. PMI estimation draws on multiple disciplines: soft tissue decomposition stage, insect...
- Thanatomicrobiome
- The community of microorganisms that colonise a body after death, arising primarily from gut bacteria that breach the intestinal wall and spread...
Explained in
- Microbial and Microbiome Evidence in Forensic CasesThe total community of microorganisms inhabiting a soil sample. Each location has a characteristic baseline community shaped by climate, vegetation, and soil c...