ArticlemSphere2021
A Pilot Study of Microbial Succession in Human Rib Skeletal Remains during Terrestrial Decomposition.
Article in mSphere, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Artificial intelligence in forensic science: a systematic review. Part II: long-range postmortem interval estimation.International journal of legal medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Human Decomposition and Time Since Death: Persistent Challenges and Future Directions of Postmortem Interval Estimation in Forensic Anthropology.American journal of biological anthropology · 2024Pooled it
- Microbiology and postmortem interval: a systematic review.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 2024Pooled it
- Characterisation of microbial succession for the estimation of PMI and PMSI in terrestrial and aquatic environments.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 2026Article
- Estimation of postmortem submersion interval based on microbial community composition in human remains recovered from aquatic environments.Journal of forensic sciences · 2026Article
- Forensic Microbiomics and Trace Microbial Evidence: Molecular Innovations for Linking Suspects, Objects, and Environments.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- A VOC-centric web of biological interaction on corpse: Consideration for forensic PMI estimation.iScience · 2026Review
- Insects shape the cadaver decomposition microbiome and postmortem interval estimation accuracy.mSystems · 2026Article
- Silent witnesses: basidiomycota as forensic biomarkers in human decomposition.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Microbial genomics: a potential toolkit for forensic investigations.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 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
- A review of multi-disciplinary decomposition research and key drivers of variation in decay.International journal of legal medicine · 2024Review
- Artificial intelligence-driven microbiome data analysis for estimation of postmortem interval and crime location.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Review
- Changes in Microbial Communities Using Pigs as a Model for Postmortem Interval Estimation.Microorganisms · 2023Article
- Review
- Estimation of the post-mortem interval by modelling the changes in oral bacterial diversity during decomposition.Journal of applied microbiology · 2022Article
- Microbiota succession throughout life from the cradle to the grave.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2022Review
- Post-Mortem Interval and Microbiome Analysis through 16S rRNA Analysis: A Systematic Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Advances in microbial metagenomics and artificial intelligence analysis in forensic identification.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The bones of decomposing vertebrates are colonized by a succession of diverse microbial communities. If this succession is similar across individuals, microbes may provide clues about the postmortem interval (PMI) during forensic investigations in which human skeletal remains are discovered. Here, we characterize the human bone microbial decomposer community to determine whether microbial succession is a marker for PMI. Six human donor subjects were placed outdoors to decompose on the soil surface at the Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science facility. To also assess the effect of seasons, three decedents were placed each in the spring and summer. Once ribs were exposed through natural decomposition, a rib was collected from each body for eight time points at 3 weeks apart. We discovered a core bone decomposer microbiome dominated by taxa in the phylum
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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.