Human Decomposition Soil Microbial Communities Raw sequence reads. Soil Microbial Communities

In this study, we begin to address questions about inter-individual variation in vertebrate decomposition attributed to intrinsic factors, that is, properties of the carcass or cadaver itself. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of several intrinsic factors (age, sex, diseases at time of death, and body mass index (BMI)) on chemical and microbial changes in within human decomposition-impacted soils. In a field study conducted at the University of Tennessee Anthropology Research Facility, soils (0-5 cm) were collected from the decomposition-impacted area surrounding nineteen deceased human individuals through the end of active decomposition, the period of rapid mass loss. Soil physicochemical parameters were measured, and microbial (bacterial and fungal) communities were assessed via amplicon sequencing. Microbial decomposers are driven by a variety of extrinsic and intrinsic factors, however our understanding of how intrinsic influence soil microbial communities has yet to be addressed. This work aims to investigate this knowledge gap, ultimately helping to reveal the ecological impacts of decomposition.

本研究旨在探讨由内在因素（即尸体自身属性）导致的脊椎动物分解过程中的个体间差异问题。本研究的核心目标为：探究多种内在因素（年龄、性别、死亡时伴发疾病及身体质量指数（BMI））对人类分解影响土壤中化学与微生物变化的影响。本野外实验于田纳西大学人类学研究设施开展，研究人员从19具已故人类个体周围的分解影响区域采集0~5 cm深度的土壤样本，采样工作持续至主动分解阶段（快速质量损失阶段）结束。研究团队测定了土壤理化参数，并通过扩增子测序（amplicon sequencing）对微生物（细菌与真菌）群落进行了评估。尽管微生物分解者受多种外在与内在因素共同驱动，但目前学界对内在因素如何影响土壤微生物群落的认知仍有待完善。本研究旨在填补这一认知空白，最终助力揭示分解过程的生态影响。