{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,8]],"date-time":"2026-08-08T19:45:59Z","timestamp":1786218359966,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,26]],"date-time":"2022-09-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1664150400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Science Foundation","award":["HRD 2011764"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HRD 2011764"]}]},{"name":"National Science Foundation","award":["HRD 215000"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HRD 215000"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The microbiota gut-brain-axis is a bidirectional circuit that links the neural, endocrine, and immunological systems with gut microbial communities. The gut microbiome plays significant roles in human mind and behavior, specifically pain perception, learning capacity, memory, and temperament. Studies have shown that disruptions in the gut microbiota have been associated with substance use disorders. The interplay of gut microbiota in substance abuse disorders has not been elucidated; however, postmortem microbiome profiles may produce promising avenues for future forensic investigations. The goal of the current study was to determine gut microbiome composition in substance abuse disorder cases using transverse colon tissues of 21 drug overdose versus 19 non-overdose-related cases. We hypothesized that postmortem samples of the same cause of death will reveal similar microbial taxonomic relationships. We compared microbial diversity profiles using amplicon-based sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene V4 hypervariable region. The results demonstrated that the microbial abundance in younger-aged cases were found to have significantly more operational taxonomic units than older cases. Using weighted UniFrac analysis, the influence of substances in overdose cases was found to be a significant factor in determining microbiome similarity. The results also revealed that samples of the same cause of death cluster together, showing a high degree of similarity between samples and a low degree of similarity among samples of different causes of death. In conclusion, our examination of human transverse colon microflora in decomposing remains extends emerging literature on postmortem microbial communities, which will ultimately contribute to advanced knowledge of human putrefaction.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0274401","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,26]],"date-time":"2022-09-26T17:32:25Z","timestamp":1664213545000},"page":"e0274401","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Correlation between postmortem microbial signatures and substance abuse disorders"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0957-0603","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Gulnaz T.","family":"Javan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tiara","family":"Wells","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jamese","family":"Allen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Silvia","family":"Visona","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Matteo","family":"Moretti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0405-9371","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Craig","family":"Tipton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Latia","family":"Scott","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sheree J.","family":"Finley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0274401.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"26050","DOI":"10.3402\/mehd.v26.26050","article-title":"The composition of the gut microbiota throughout life, with an emphasis on early life","volume":"26","author":"JM Rodr\u00edguez","year":"2015","journal-title":"Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0274401.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"Ac8","DOI":"10.1289\/ehp.117-a198","article-title":"Gut reaction: environmental effects on the human microbiota","volume":"117","author":"ML Phillips","year":"2009","journal-title":"Environ Health Perspect"},{"key":"pone.0274401.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"569630","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2020.569630","article-title":"Effects of Extended Postmortem Interval on Microbial Communities in Organs of the Human Cadaver","volume":"11","author":"H Lutz","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front. 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