New research indicates that each person’s genital microbiome is as identifiable as a fingerprint and can be detected even when using condom.
An innovator published in Iscian revealed that each person’s genital microbiome – called “sexoma” – is as unique as a fingerprint and is transferred during sexual contact.
This discovery may provide forensic investigators a new tool to identify sexual aggressors, even in cases where a condom was used.
The investigation, led by Australian scientists from the University of Murdoch, the University of Western Australia and The Kids Research Institute, is based on the forensic principle that “Each contact leaves a trail”. According to forensic scientist Brendan Chapman, senior author of the study, “This investigation demonstrates that we can observe microbial traces in the genital microbiomas of heterosexual couples after sex.”
Traditional forensic methods, such as GRU collection in sexual aggression test kits, are crucial to investigations, but can be a challenge when men’s DNA is difficult to isolate or recover. This study explores the potential for the use of sexoma as an alternative forensic marker.
To test this hypothesis, the investigators recruited 12 monogamous heterosexual couples aged between 20 and 30 years. Participants provided samples of your genitalswhich were sequenced using Arn gene analysis to identify unique bacterial signatures.
After abstaining from sex for a maximum of two weeks, couples had sex with penetration, being collected and compared new samples of the microbiome after the act, explains the.
The study revealed clear disturbances in microbial diversity after sex, with the bacterial signatures of partners to appear in each other’s genitals. This transfer occurred regardless of circumcision, removal of pubic hair, the use of lubricants, oral sex or the use of condoms. The results suggest that, even in the absence of DNA evidence, the Sexoma can serve as an indicator of sexual contact.
“This is promising as a means of testing the aggressor after aggression and means that there may be microbial markers that detect sexual contact even when a condom was used,” the investigators observed. The study highlights the potential of microbiome analysis as an additional tool in sexual aggression investigations when the traditional DNA profile is inconclusive.
