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Javan GT, Wells T, Allen J, Visona S, Moretti M, Tipton C, Scott L, Finley SJ. Correlation between postmortem microbial signatures and substance abuse disorders. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0274401. [PMID: 36155553 PMCID: PMC9512198 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The microbiota gut-brain-axis is a bidirectional circuit that links the neural, endocrine, and immunological systems with gut microbial communities. The gut microbiome plays significant roles in human mind and behavior, specifically pain perception, learning capacity, memory, and temperament. Studies have shown that disruptions in the gut microbiota have been associated with substance use disorders. The interplay of gut microbiota in substance abuse disorders has not been elucidated; however, postmortem microbiome profiles may produce promising avenues for future forensic investigations. The goal of the current study was to determine gut microbiome composition in substance abuse disorder cases using transverse colon tissues of 21 drug overdose versus 19 non-overdose-related cases. We hypothesized that postmortem samples of the same cause of death will reveal similar microbial taxonomic relationships. We compared microbial diversity profiles using amplicon-based sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene V4 hypervariable region. The results demonstrated that the microbial abundance in younger-aged cases were found to have significantly more operational taxonomic units than older cases. Using weighted UniFrac analysis, the influence of substances in overdose cases was found to be a significant factor in determining microbiome similarity. The results also revealed that samples of the same cause of death cluster together, showing a high degree of similarity between samples and a low degree of similarity among samples of different causes of death. In conclusion, our examination of human transverse colon microflora in decomposing remains extends emerging literature on postmortem microbial communities, which will ultimately contribute to advanced knowledge of human putrefaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gulnaz T. Javan
- Department of Physical Sciences and Forensic Science Programs, Alabama State University, Montgomery, Alabama, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Tiara Wells
- Department of Physical Sciences and Forensic Science Programs, Alabama State University, Montgomery, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Jamese Allen
- Department of Physical Sciences and Forensic Science Programs, Alabama State University, Montgomery, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Silvia Visona
- Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Matteo Moretti
- Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Craig Tipton
- RTL Genomics, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America
| | - Latia Scott
- Department of Biological Sciences, Delaware State University, Dover, Delaware, United States of America
- College of Agriculture, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Sheree J. Finley
- Department of Physical Sciences and Forensic Science Programs, Alabama State University, Montgomery, Alabama, United States of America
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Lutz H, Vangelatos A, Gottel N, Osculati A, Visona S, Finley SJ, Gilbert JA, Javan GT. Effects of Extended Postmortem Interval on Microbial Communities in Organs of the Human Cadaver. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:569630. [PMID: 33363519 PMCID: PMC7752770 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.569630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Human thanatomicrobiota studies have shown that microorganisms inhabit and proliferate externally and internally throughout the body and are the primary mediators of putrefaction after death. Yet little is known about the source and diversity of the thanatomicrobiome or the underlying factors leading to delayed decomposition exhibited by reproductive organs. The use of the V4 hypervariable region of bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences for taxonomic classification ("barcoding") and phylogenetic analyses of human postmortem microbiota has recently emerged as a possible tool in forensic microbiology. The goal of this study was to apply a 16S rRNA barcoding approach to investigate variation among different organs, as well as the extent to which microbial associations among different body organs in human cadavers can be used to predict forensically important determinations, such as cause and time of death. We assessed microbiota of organ tissues including brain, heart, liver, spleen, prostate, and uterus collected at autopsy from criminal casework of 40 Italian cadavers with times of death ranging from 24 to 432 h. Both the uterus and prostate had a significantly higher alpha diversity compared to other anatomical sites, and exhibited a significantly different microbial community composition from non-reproductive organs, which we found to be dominated by the bacterial orders MLE1-12, Saprospirales, and Burkholderiales. In contrast, reproductive organs were dominated by Clostridiales, Lactobacillales, and showed a marked decrease in relative abundance of MLE1-12. These results provide insight into the observation that the uterus and prostate are the last internal organs to decay during human decomposition. We conclude that distinct community profiles of reproductive versus non-reproductive organs may help guide the application of forensic microbiology tools to investigations of human cadavers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly Lutz
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States.,Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | | | - Neil Gottel
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States.,Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Antonio Osculati
- Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Silvia Visona
- Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Sheree J Finley
- Physical Sciences Department, Forensic Science Programs, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL, United States
| | - Jack A Gilbert
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States.,Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Gulnaz T Javan
- Physical Sciences Department, Forensic Science Programs, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL, United States
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