Relógios Biológicos da Morte: a Microbiologia na Estimativa do Intervalo Post Mortem em Ciências Forenses.

Resumo

A determinação do intervalo pós-morte (IPM) é fundamental em investigações criminais, sendo atualmente realizada com base em fenômenos cadavéricos ou na sucessão de insetos. Contudo, a estimativa precisa desse intervalo ainda representa um desafio para os peritos criminais, exigindo métodos mais acurados. Os microrganismos constituem um tipo ideal de evidência física, em virtude de sua ampla diversidade e presença em ambientes diversos. O corpo humano abriga trilhões de células microbianas que compõem o microbioma, o qual interage com as células do hospedeiro ao longo da vida. Após a morte do organismo, e com o início do processo de decomposição, ocorre uma série de alterações fisiológicas e bioquímicas que caracterizam os diferentes estágios da decomposição. O corpo fornece uma fonte abundante de nutrientes para os microrganismos residentes e para aqueles presentes no ambiente, promovendo, ao longo do tempo, mudanças sucessivas nas comunidades microbianas. A sucessão microbiana em diferentes regiões do corpo humano tem demonstrado potencial significativo como ferramenta forense para a estimativa do tempo da morte. Este estudo oferece uma visão geral das diferentes fontes de microrganismos presentes no corpo humano e analisa os estágios da decomposição em relação à sucessão das comunidades microbianas através de uma análise integrativa das publicações que abordam o tema nos últimos 15 anos (2010 – 2025), com o objetivo de evidenciar a aplicabilidade da microbiologia na determinação do tempo da morte em contextos forenses. Constatou-se que é possível utilizar os microrganismos de forma acessória na estimativa do IPM, contudo, os estudos ainda são insuficientes.

Palavras-chave

Microbiologia
Forense
Mudanças Depois da Morte
DNA barcoding
forensic microbiology
microbiome
post mortem changes

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