Forensic Microbiology, an Important Tool in Crime Investigation

Abstract

Forensic science is the application of science to civil and criminal laws, also called as “criminalistics”. Its branches are rooted in every branch of science and many other aspects of modern society. Forensic scientists are responsible to analyze scientific evidence during the course of investigation either by travelling to the scene of the crime or by performing analysis on objects in the laboratory. Forensic microbiology is the science by which microorganisms ‘behaviors are used to determine the origin of a particular microbial strain, the path of an outbreak or the identity of a criminal. Recently there has been a significant development in forensic microbiology as a result of the significant development in molecular biology, microbiology and biochemistry sciences. It was found that the rapid identification and classification of infectious microorganisms are of great importance in the case of biological and microbial threat, and the analysis of the microbial genome sequence, whose cost has decreased significantly in recent years, greatly helps in this area.