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Life
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New Progress in Forensic Analysis of Animal and Plant Samples
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New Progress in Forensic Analysis of Animal and Plant Samples

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 4595

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Daniel Vanek

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Institute for Environmental Studies, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Interests: wildlife forensics; specie and individual identification; ancient DNA; big cats; databasing; policy issues

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wildlife trade is regulated by the international CITES convention (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). However, illegal wildlife trade is currently on the rise, and is becoming one of the most lucrative sectors of crime. The rarer a species is, the higher its illegal demand.

Forensic analysis plays an important role in providing evidence, investigational leads, and support to law enforcement in those cases where non-human biological material is to be examined. The aim of this Special Issue is to review the progress in forensic analysis of animal and plant samples, and present original research in this field.

We welcome multidisciplinary studies, description of novel methods and procedures, technical notes, case reports, interpretation issues, and reviews, describing not only the analysis of DNA, but also isotopic signatures, morphology, 3-D imaging, palynology, plant barcoding, biobanking, microbiology, mass spectrometry, proteomics, databasing, standards, toxicology, etc.

Dr. Daniel Vanek
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • DNA barcoding
  • wildlife forensics
  • mass spectrometry
  • stable isotopes
  • radiocarbon dating
  • forensic morphology
  • databasing and biobanking
  • morphology

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 2671 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Tanning Chemical Agents on DNA Degradation: A Robust Procedure for the Analysis of Tanned Animal Hide—A Pilot Study
by Kristyna Hebenstreitova, Ondrej Salaba, Jakub Trubac, Jitka Kufnerova and Daniel Vanek
Life 2024, 14(1), 147; https://doi.org/10.3390/life14010147 - 19 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1256
Abstract
Illegal wildlife trade is currently on the rise, and it is becoming one of the most lucrative crime sectors. The rarer the species, the higher the demand. Wildlife trade falls under international regulations, such as the CITES convention. Proving that this convention has [...] Read more.
Illegal wildlife trade is currently on the rise, and it is becoming one of the most lucrative crime sectors. The rarer the species, the higher the demand. Wildlife trade falls under international regulations, such as the CITES convention. Proving that this convention has been violated is a complex process and can be very difficult to do. DNA analysis methods remain (in many cases) the only way to determine whether a certain specimen originated from a protected animal species, a specific individual, or a species in which it is legal to trade. Tanned animal hides are a specific type of specimen. With this type of biological material, obtaining amplifiable DNA is often difficult. This pilot study aimed to map the effect of the chemicals used in the tanning process on the degradation of the DNA yielded from such samples. The DNA was quantified using two different approaches: qPCR and Qubit fluorometry. The degree of DNA fragmentation was assessed by determining the degradation index. The results indicate that reagents containing chromium have the greatest influence on DNA degradation. However, by using the presented protocol, enough amplifiable DNA can be obtained from hides treated with aluminum-based reagents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Progress in Forensic Analysis of Animal and Plant Samples)
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11 pages, 2406 KiB  
Article
New Set of EST-STR Markers for Discrimination of Related Papaver somniferum L. Varieties
by Šarlota Kaňuková, Katarína Ondreičková, Daniel Mihálik and Ján Kraic
Life 2024, 14(1), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/life14010072 - 31 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1277
Abstract
Papaver somniferum L. is cultivated for its edible seeds and for the production of alkaloids. A serious problem in seed trade and processing is the intentional mixing of excellent food-quality seeds with non-food-grade-quality seeds. Tracking the correct or illegitimate handling of seeds requires [...] Read more.
Papaver somniferum L. is cultivated for its edible seeds and for the production of alkaloids. A serious problem in seed trade and processing is the intentional mixing of excellent food-quality seeds with non-food-grade-quality seeds. Tracking the correct or illegitimate handling of seeds requires an efficient method for discrimination and individualization of poppy varieties. As in human and animal forensics, DNA variable regions containing short tandem repeats (STRs) located either in non-coding DNA or in gene sequences (EST-STRs) are preferred markers for discrimination between genotypes. Primers designed for 10 poppy EST-STR loci not analyzed so far were tested for their discriminatory ability on a set of 23 related P. somniferum L. genotypes. Thirty-three EST-STR alleles were identified together. Their polymorphic information content (PIC) values were in the range of 0.175–0.649. The PI value varied in the range of 0.140–0.669, and the cumulative PI was 1.2 × 10−5. PIsibs values varied between 0.436 and 0.820 and the cumulative value was lower (5.0 × 10−3). All analyzed genotypes were distinguished mutually, each with its own unique EST-STR profile. These newly developed EST-STR markers more effectively discriminated P. somniferum L. genotypes, even those genotypes whose DNA profiles were previously identical. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Progress in Forensic Analysis of Animal and Plant Samples)
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Review

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10 pages, 5543 KiB  
Review
From Galls to Cecidological Herbaria: The Role of Gall Collections in Modern Life Sciences
by Mauro Mandrioli, Luca Tonetti, Tiziana Beltrame and Elena Canadelli
Life 2024, 14(4), 452; https://doi.org/10.3390/life14040452 - 29 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1428
Abstract
Galls (also known as cecidia) have been studied by botanists, zoologists and microbiologists over the last century. Indeed, galls can be induced by different animals, bacteria, viruses and fungi, so that their presence simultaneously attested the presence of specific host plants and gall-inducing [...] Read more.
Galls (also known as cecidia) have been studied by botanists, zoologists and microbiologists over the last century. Indeed, galls can be induced by different animals, bacteria, viruses and fungi, so that their presence simultaneously attested the presence of specific host plants and gall-inducing species. Consequently, gall collections, also known as cecidological herbaria or cecidological collections, can be interesting to study biodiversity changes over time. This review describes the main cecidological collections currently available in different European museums in order to stimulate their future study. The present analysis suggests that well-organized and preserved cecidological collections have great potential to guide research in taxonomy and systematics. Furthermore, this review aims to encourage future research on the conservation and digitisation standards of gall specimens in order to make cecidological data more accessible to researchers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Progress in Forensic Analysis of Animal and Plant Samples)
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