Human Decomposition Soil Microbial Communities Raw sequence reads

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.