ABSTRACT
Emerging next generation sequencing (NGS) applications include microbial DNA profiling of a variety of forensically relevant samples including soil, blood, hair, skin, oral, nasal, vaginal, and anal sources which can aid investigators in determining the circumstances of a case. This chapter aims to trace progress in applying NGS for microbial community profiling with a focus on forensic applications to serve as a resource of publications published to date in this area for forensic researchers and practitioners. The overall NGS approach is very similar to those applied to forensic DNA typing of human autosomal, sex-linked, and mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms. In the human microbiome project, samples from the oral mucosa, skin, vaginal mucosa, and gut were analyzed by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene using NGS and identifying the metabolic genes and proteins using computational methods. NGS capabilities have developed from applications in bioforensics, biosurveillance, and infectious disease diagnosis.
