Table 1_Forensic applications of the skin microbiome: a structured narrative review of donor association, contact inference, and crime-scene reconstruction.xlsx

Controlled studies show that skin-associated communities can be recovered from touched objects and clothing and can support donor differentiation, particularly when targeted markers, microbial single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or metagenomic features are used. Nevertheless, performance estimates are strongly affected by cohort size, body site, substrate, time since deposition, environmental background, contamination, and machine-learning design.

Evidence for body-site and biological-trace source inference is promising, whereas postmortem interval estimation, chronological contact reconstruction, and spatial trajectory inference remain exploratory.</p>Conclusion<p>Skin microbiome profiling should currently be regarded as a source of investigative intelligence and potentially complementary evidence rather than a replacement for human DNA profiling. Translation into practice requires harmonized protocols, realistic multicenter validation, open and representative reference datasets, explicit error-rate reporting, likelihood-based interpretation, and proportionate ethical and legal safeguards.</p>