ReviewFrontiers in microbiology2016
The Thanatomicrobiome: A Missing Piece of the Microbial Puzzle of Death.
Review in Frontiers in microbiology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Impact of the Human Microbiome in Forensic Sciences: a Systematic Review.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2020Pooled it
- Forensic Microbiomics and Trace Microbial Evidence: Molecular Innovations for Linking Suspects, Objects, and Environments.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Benefits and Limitations Associated with the Use of Alternative Biological Matrices in Forensic Toxicology, as Well as Genetic Markers of Poisoning and Psychoactive Substance Abuse.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Differentiating hemorrhagic shock and organophosphate poisoning through integrated skin microbiome-metabolome signatures.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Postmortem Microbiology in Forensic Diagnostics: Interpretation of Infectious Causes of Death and Emerging Applications.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Microbial succession in human tissues postmortem: insights from 2bRAD-M sequencing.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Viral community succession during cadaver decomposition and its potential for estimating postmortem intervals.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- The microbiome and volatile organic compounds reflecting the state of decomposition in an indoor environment.Science & justice : journal of the Forensic Science Society · 2025Article
- Current Understanding and Future Research Direction for Estimating the Postmortem Interval: A Systematic Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- RedefiningFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Review
- Advancing time-since-interval estimation for clandestine graves: a forensic ecogenomics perspective into burial and translocation timelines using massively parallel sequencing.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Review
- Medico-Legal Applications of the Human Microbiome and Critical Issues Due to Environmental Transfer: A Review.Microorganisms · 2024Review
- Multimodal Approaches Based on Microbial Data for Accurate Postmortem Interval Estimation.Microorganisms · 2024Review
- Unraveling the Enigma of Organismal Death: Insights, Implications, and Unexplored Frontiers.Physiology (Bethesda, Md.) · 2024Review
- Forensic Microbiology: When, Where and How.Microorganisms · 2024Review
- Artificial intelligence-driven microbiome data analysis for estimation of postmortem interval and crime location.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Review
- Environmental predictors impact microbial-based postmortem interval (PMI) estimation models within human decomposition soils.PloS one · 2024Article
- Decomposition in an extreme cold environment and associated microbiome-prediction model implications for the postmortem interval estimation.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- The Future Is Now: Unraveling the Expanding Potential of Human (Necro)Microbiome in Forensic Investigations.Microorganisms · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Death is a universal phenomenon; however, is there "life after death?" This topic has been investigated for centuries but still there are gray areas that have yet to be elucidated. Forensic microbiologists are developing new applications to investigate the dynamic and coordinated changes in microbial activity that occur when a human host dies. There is currently a paucity of explorations of the thanatomicrobiome (thanatos-, Greek for death) and epinecrotic communities (microbial communities residing in and/or moving on the surface of decomposing remains). Ongoing studies can help clarify the structure and function of these postmortem microbiomes. Human microbiome studies have revealed that 75-90% of cells in the body prior to death are microbial. Upon death, putrefaction occurs and is a complicated process encompassing chemical degradation and autolysis of cells. Decomposition also involves the release of contents of the intestines due to enzymes under the effects of abiotic and biotic factors. These factors likely have predictable effects on postmortem microbial communities and can be leveraged for forensic studies. This mini review provides a critical examination of emerging research relating to thanatomicrobiome and epinecrotic communities, how each is studied, and possible strategies of stochastic processes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.