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Salivary microbiomes: a potent evidence in forensic investigations

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Abstract

Saliva components combine with oral cavity microorganisms, blood cells, and airway secretions after entering the oral cavity via salivary ducts; these factors provide relevant information about persons’ health state, quality of life, and lifestyle, in addition to their age and gender due to which salivary microbiome has emerged as a subject of significant interest in the forensic domain. This study aims to provide an extensive review of the possible applications of the salivary microbiome in characterizing the habit-specific microbiomes. Thirty-three relevant articles were selected for inclusion in this study. The study highlighted the influence of habits on the salivary microbiome suggesting smokers have distinct bacteria like Synergistetes, Streptococcus, Prevotella, and Veillonella in relation to age; people of higher age have more Prevotella; further, dental plaque can be corelated with Streptococci and Actinomycetes. Likewise, dietary habits, alcoholism, and consumption of coffee also affect bacteria types in oral cavities. The study underscores the added benefits of salivary microbiome profiling in forensics, as it is evident that microbial DNA profiling holds substantial promise for enhancing forensic investigations; it enables the characterization of an individual’s habits, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and dietary preferences; bacteria specific to these habits can be identified, thereby hel** to narrow down the pool of potential suspects. In conclusion, the salivary microbiome presents a valuable avenue for forensic science, offering a novel approach which not only enhances the prospects of solving complex cases but also underscores the rich potential of microbiome analysis in the realm of forensic investigation.

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Data availability

The datasets analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to data privacy, but it can be available on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Science, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj, U.P, India

    Shubham Yadav, Pallavi Kumari & Vaibhav Saran

  2. Department of Microbiology, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Clement Town, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

    Vijay Tripathi

  3. RFSL, Dharamshala, H.P, India

    Aditi Sinha

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All persons who meet authorship criteria are listed as authors, and all authors certify that they have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content, including participation in the concept, design, analysis, writing, or revision of the manuscript.

• Category 1

Conception and design of study: SY, VS, and VT.

Acquisition of data: SY, PK, and AS.

Analysis and/or interpretation of data: SY, PK, and AS.

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Drafting the manuscript: SY, PK, and AS.

Revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content: VS and VT.

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Approval of the version of the manuscript to be published: SY, PK, AS, VT, and VS.

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Correspondence to Shubham Yadav.

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Yadav, S., Kumari, P., Sinha, A. et al. Salivary microbiomes: a potent evidence in forensic investigations. Forensic Sci Med Pathol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-023-00759-3

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