Bacterial 16s rRNA and antibiotic susceptibility test - A potential marker for forensic individual identification on the basis of profession

Abstract

Microorganisms are indistinguishable parts of the environment. They are distributed almost everywhere on the earth’s environment and they form the inseparable bond with that particular environment. Similarly, they are distributed inside and outside our body and forms an inextricable conjugation and takes part in the day-to-day’s body functions. These bacteria also contribute to form a skin microflora of a person staying at the particular region and performing particular type of job. According to Locard’s exchange principle when two objects come in contact with each other the exchange of matter takes place from one object to another object of the crime scene which is used in forensic science to connect the suspects with the crime scene. In accordance to this fact the skin bacteria can be transferred from one object to another when touched on the scene of crime. Another advent that exacts sequences of DNA that encodes for 16s rRNA are not identical between organisms, but stays stable and unchanged throughout the life duration, can be used as an exploratory forensic individualization tool. Literature survey says that the ownership and locality of the person, can be identified by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) on the basis of communities of the skin bacteria. This research is focussed on proving the variations in 16s rRNA sequences clusters on the basis of professions, which can help in identification of the. Bacterial identification can be a useful tool in identifying suspects and workplace or the profession of the suspect/s. In this paper, the results showing clustering of 16s rRNA sequences is shown clearly on the basis of professions. These clustering results were indicative of possibility of use of sanger sequencing for individualization can be used rather than using expensive analysis like pyrosequencing and NGS with careful sample collection from the scene of crime. The same strains that were used for sanger sequence were also tested for antibiotic susceptibility test, which showed that different professions show difference in antibiotic susceptibility.