Forensic microbiology and bite marks: a systematic review

Authors

  • Bruna Moitas Departamento de Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses e Educação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
  • Ines Morais Caldas Faculdade de Medicina Dentária da Universidade do Porto CFE - Centre of Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra TOXRUN – Toxicology Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences, CESPU, CRL, 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal
  • Benedita Sampaio-Maia Faculdade de Medicina Dentária da Universidade do Porto i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto INEB - Instituto Nacional de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto

Keywords:

Forensic sciences, Human identification, Forensic Microbiology, Human microbiome, Bite marks, Streptococcus

Abstract

The forensic microbiology role in bite marks’ analysis as evidence in a court of law has not yet been explored, being the analysis of bite marks mostly morphology based. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate if the analysis of the oral microbiota may be helpful as a forensic complementary tool. Articles were searched on the PubMed database, using predefined data fields and keywords. The final selection included a total of 6 papers (out of 42). Our results indicated that the Streptococcus genus is a key player in the analysis of the bite mark microbiology in a forensic perspective and its genomic analysis may facilitate the association of a bite mark to the perpetrator. However, much more research is still needed before this forensic strategy can be applied in real scenarios. There is a need to optimize and standardize the methods of microbiome analysis and to determine several factors that may influence the results, such as the frequency of bacterial genotypes in the human population and the temporal stability of the oral microbiome in human skin.

Author Biographies

Bruna Moitas, Departamento de Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses e Educação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal

Forensic Sciences Master student

Ines Morais Caldas, Faculdade de Medicina Dentária da Universidade do Porto CFE - Centre of Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra TOXRUN – Toxicology Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences, CESPU, CRL, 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal

Associate Professor of Forensic Odontology

Benedita Sampaio-Maia, Faculdade de Medicina Dentária da Universidade do Porto i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto INEB - Instituto Nacional de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto

Associate Professor of Microbiology

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Published

2022-11-20

How to Cite

Moitas, B., Caldas, I. M., & Sampaio-Maia, B. (2022). Forensic microbiology and bite marks: a systematic review. The Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology - JFOS, 40(2), 44:51. Retrieved from https://ojs.iofos.eu/index.php/Journal/article/view/1467

Issue

Vol. 40 No. 2 (2022): JFOS issue 2- 2022

Section

Bite Marks