AUTHOR=He Qing , Niu Xueli , Qi Rui-Qun , Liu Min TITLE=Advances in microbial metagenomics and artificial intelligence analysis in forensic identification JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.1046733 DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.1046733 ISSN=1664-302X ABSTRACT=

Microorganisms, which are widely distributed in nature and human body, show unique application value in forensic identification. Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing technology and significant reductions in analysis costs have markedly promoted the development of forensic microbiology and metagenomics. The rapid progression of artificial intelligence (AI) methods and computational approaches has shown their unique application value in forensics and their potential to address relevant forensic questions. Here, we summarize the current status of microbial metagenomics and AI analysis in forensic microbiology, including postmortem interval inference, individual identification, geolocation, and tissue/fluid identification.