Microbial Forensics: Beyond a Fascination

Microbiology has seen a great transition from culture-based identification of microbes using various biochemical and microscopic observations to identify and functionally characterize the microbes by just collecting the DNA and sequencing it. This advancement has not only moved in and around microbiology but has found its applications in fields which were earlier considered to be the remote ones. Forensics is one such field, where tracing the leftover evidence on a crime scene can lead to the identification and prosecution of the culprit. When leftover microbes in the biological material or objects used by the culprit or the person in question are used to correlate the identity of the individual, it takes us to the new field of science—“microbial forensics.” Technological advances in the field of forensics, molecular biology, and microbiology have all helped to refine the techniques of collecting and processing of the samples for microbiological identification using DNA-based methods followed by its inference in the form of evidence. Studies have supported the assumption that skin or surface microflora of an individual is somewhat related with the microflora found on the objects used by that individual and efforts are ongoing to see if this is found consistently in various surroundings and with different individuals. Once established, this technique would facilitate accurate identification and differentiation of an individual or suspect to guide investigations along with conventional evidence. Legal investigations are not only the field where microbial forensic could help. Agriculture, defense, public health, tourism, etc. are the fields wherein microbial forensics with different names based on the fields are helping out and have potential to further support other fields.