The Microbiome of Human Decomposition: Studying microbial communities involved at every stage of cadaver decomposition is leading to a more precise understanding of the overall process

Abstract

Deep in the primordial forest of eastern Texas, we watch our team of undergraduate and graduate students taking swab samples from a pair of human cadavers that we placed at the Southeast Texas Applied Forensics Science (STAFS) facility of Sam Houston State University (SHSU) in Huntsville. Our highly choreographed sampling regime, which focuses on bacterial communities, includes swabbing seven body sites on each cadaver, collecting nearby soil samples, tabulating temperatures, and collecting cadaver-associated flies. We do this daily until the bodies begin to dry out, then sample every other day for another month, then once weekly for yet another month, then once per month for 6 months until only dry bones remain. We continue taking soil samples for approximately one year longer.