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Oliveira M, Azevedo L, Ballard D, Branicki W, Amorim A. Using plants in forensics: State-of-the-art and prospects. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2023; 336:111860. [PMID: 37683985 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023]
Abstract
The increasing use of plant evidence in forensic investigations gave rise to a powerful new discipline - Forensic Botany - that analyses micro- or macroscopic plant materials, such as the totality or fragments of an organ (i.e., leaves, stems, seeds, fruits, roots) and tissue (i.e., pollen grains, spores, fibers, cork) or its chemical composition (i. e., secondary metabolites, isotopes, DNA, starch grains). Forensic botanists frequently use microscopy, chemical analysis, and botanical expertise to identify and interpret evidence crucial to solving civil and criminal issues, collaborating in enforcing laws or regulations, and ensuring public health safeguards. The present work comprehensively examines the current state and future potential of Forensic Botany. The first section conveys the critical steps of plant evidence collection, documentation, and preservation, emphasizing the importance of these initial steps in maintaining the integrity of the items. It explores the different molecular analyses, covering the identification of plant species and varieties or cultivars, and discusses the limitations and challenges of these techniques in forensics. The subsequent section covers the diversity of Forensic Botany approaches, examining how plant evidence exposes food and pharmaceutical frauds, uncovers insufficient or erroneous labeling, traces illegal drug trafficking routes, and combats the illegal collection or trade of protected species and derivatives. National and global security issues, including the implications of biological warfare, bioterrorism, and biocrime are addressed, and a review of the contributions of plant evidence in crime scene investigations is provided, synthesizing a comprehensive overview of the diverse facets of Forensic Botany.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Oliveira
- i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Ipatimup - Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
| | - Luísa Azevedo
- UMIB - Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine, ICBAS - School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; ITR - Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health, Porto, Portugal
| | - David Ballard
- King's Forensics, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Wojciech Branicki
- Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland; Institute of Forensic Research, Kraków, Poland
| | - Antonio Amorim
- i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Ipatimup - Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; FCUP - Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
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Kasprzyk I. Forensic botany: who?, how?, where?, when? Sci Justice 2023; 63:258-275. [PMID: 36870705 DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2023.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Plants are a good source of biological forensic evidence; this is due to their ubiquity, their ability to collect reference material, and their sensitivity to environmental changes. However, in many countries, botanical evidence is recognised as being scientifically. Botanical evidence is not mostly used for perpertration, instead it tends to serve as circumstantial evidence. Plant materials constitute the basis, among others, for linking a suspect or object to a crime scene or a victim, confirming or not confirming an alibi, determining the post-mortem interval, and determining the origin of food/object. Forensic botany entails field work, knowledge of plants, understanding ecosystem processes, and a basis understaning of geoscience. In this study, experiments with mammal cadavers were conducted to determine the occurence of an event. The simplest criterion characterising botanical evidence is its size. Therefore, macroremains include whole plants or their larger fragments (e.g. tree bark, leaves, seeds, prickles, and thorns), whereas microscopic evidence includes palynomorphs (spores and pollen grains), diatoms, and tissues. Botanical methods allow for an analysis to be repeated multiple times and the test material is easy to collect in the field. Forensic botany can be supplemented with molecular analyses, which, although specific and sensitive, still require validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Idalia Kasprzyk
- Institute of Biology and Biotechnology, College of Natural Sciences, University of Rzeszów, Al. Rejtana 16c, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland.
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3
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Baldino G, Mondello C, Sapienza D, Stassi C, Asmundo A, Gualniera P, Vanin S, Ventura Spagnolo E. Multidisciplinary Forensic Approach in " Complex" Bodies: Systematic Review and Procedural Proposal. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:diagnostics13020310. [PMID: 36673120 PMCID: PMC9857883 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13020310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The recovery of severely altered cadavers (i.e., extensively decomposed, mummified, charred or dismembered) can be a challenge for forensic pathologists due to the difficulties in identification, PMI estimation and manner and cause of death determination. In such cases, integrating routine approaches (autopsy, histology, toxicology) to more specific forensic branches can be fundamental to improving the investigative process. In this paper a systematic review using PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases has been performed. The aim was to evaluate the forensic approaches implemented in the management of severely altered bodies due to decomposition, mummification, skeletonization, charring or dismemberment (to which we refer to as "complex"), and the role of each approach in the solution of a case. Then, the literature revision results were used to propose a schematic flowchart summarizing the post mortem activities that can be performed in forensic practice, adaptable in relation to each case.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gennaro Baldino
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy
- Correspondence: (G.B.); (E.V.S.); Tel.: +39-343944052 (G.B.); +39-3496465532 (E.V.S.)
| | - Cristina Mondello
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Daniela Sapienza
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Chiara Stassi
- Legal Medicine Section, Department for Health Promotion and Mother-Child Care, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro, 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Alessio Asmundo
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Patrizia Gualniera
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Stefano Vanin
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences (DISTAV), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Elvira Ventura Spagnolo
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy
- Correspondence: (G.B.); (E.V.S.); Tel.: +39-343944052 (G.B.); +39-3496465532 (E.V.S.)
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Forensic botany: time to embrace natural history collections, large scale environmental data and environmental DNA. Emerg Top Life Sci 2021; 5:475-485. [PMID: 33871012 DOI: 10.1042/etls20200329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Forensic botany is a diverse discipline that spans many aspects of plant sciences, particularly taxonomy, field botany, anatomy, and ecology. Internationally, there is a significant opportunity to expand the application of forensic botany in criminal investigations, especially war crimes, genocide, homicide, sexual violence, serious physical assault, illegal trade in endangered species and wildlife crime. In civil proceedings, forensic botany may, for example, be called upon in trade disputes such as accidental contamination of commodities. Despite the potential, there are barriers to the wider application of forensic botany in criminal cases; there is a widespread need to improve the efficiency of botanical trace evidence identification. This could partly be addressed by embracing innovations in image recognition and by accessing the huge quantity of specimens and images housed in natural history collections worldwide. Additionally, the recent advances in DNA sequencing technologies and the expansion of environmental DNA (eDNA) and forensic ecogenomics, offers opportunities to more rapidly provide species-level identifications. The impact of taphonomic processes upon vegetation, and vice versa, remains poorly understood; improved understanding of these interactions and their ecological impacts may be invaluable in improving clandestine burial search protocols.
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Ishak S, Dormontt E, Young JM. Microbiomes in forensic botany: a review. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 2021; 17:297-307. [PMID: 33830453 DOI: 10.1007/s12024-021-00362-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Fragments of botanical material can often be found at crime scenes (on live and dead bodies, or on incriminating objects) and can provide circumstantial evidence on various aspects of forensic investigations such as determining crime scene locations, times of death or possession of illegal species. Morphological and genetic analysis are the most commonly applied methods to analyze plant fragment evidence but are limited by their low capacity to differentiate between potential source locations, especially at local scales. Here, we review the current applications and limitations of current plant fragment analysis for forensic investigations and introduce the potential of microbiome analysis to complement the existing forensic plant fragment analysis toolkit. The potential for plant fragment provenance identification at geographic scales meaningful to forensic investigations warrants further investigation of the phyllosphere microbiome in this context. To that end we identify three key areas of future research: 1) Retrieval of microbial DNA of sufficient quality and quantity from botanical material; 2) Variability of the phyllosphere microbiome at different taxonomic and spatial scales, with explicit reference to assignment capacity; 3) Impacts on assignment capacity of time, seasonality and movement of fragments between locations. The development of robust microbiome analysis tools for forensic purposes in botanical material could increase the evidentiary value of the botanical evidence commonly encountered in casework, aiding in the identification of crime scene locations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Ishak
- Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
| | - Eleanor Dormontt
- Advanced DNA, Identification and Forensic Facility, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Jennifer M Young
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
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Common and much less common scenarios in which botany is crucial for forensic pathologist and anthropologists: a series of eight case studies. Int J Legal Med 2020; 135:1067-1077. [PMID: 33341910 PMCID: PMC8036206 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-020-02456-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
It is commonly accepted that crime scene recovery and recording are key moments of any judicial inspection in which investigators must decide on the correct strategies to put into place. Complex outdoor scenarios, presenting partially or entirely skeletonised remains, can benefit more than others by the intervention of environmental specialists (forensic anthropologists, archaeologists, entomologists and botanists). These experts are capable of singling out, correctly recording and recovering environmental evidence that can lead to a more comprehensive reconstruction of a given criminal episode. If human remains are discovered in an outdoor scenario, the on-site presence of a botanist will guarantee a correct approach to the identification, recording and recovery of any botanical evidence. If an on-site botanist is not available, the operators must be capable of both the botanical evaluation of a scene and the implementation of correct botanical sampling protocols. The following collection of unusual case histories that aim at underlining the efficacy of forensic botany will examine the determination of post mortem or the post depositional interval, evidence for a victim’s post mortem transfer, evidence for the identification of a primary crime scene and evidence for the identification of a victim’s dismemberment site. In another two cases, one, we will illustrate the important role that forensic botany played in the discrimination between botanical material used to voluntarily conceal a victim and vegetation that had grown naturally above a disposal site, whereas the other will highlight the protocols implemented for the identification of a murder weapon.
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Iqbal MA, Ueland M, Forbes SL. Recent advances in the estimation of post-mortem interval in forensic taphonomy. AUST J FORENSIC SCI 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/00450618.2018.1459840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Asif Iqbal
- Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, Australia
| | - Maiken Ueland
- Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, Australia
| | - Shari L. Forbes
- Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, Australia
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Aquila I, Gratteri S, Sacco MA, Ricci P. The Role of Forensic Botany in Solving a Case: Scientific Evidence on the Falsification of a Crime Scene. J Forensic Sci 2017; 63:961-964. [PMID: 28886225 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.13639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Revised: 08/01/2017] [Accepted: 08/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Forensic botany can provide useful information for pathologists, particularly on crime scene investigation. We report the case of a man who arrived at the hospital and died shortly afterward. The body showed widespread electrical lesions. The statements of his brother and wife about the incident aroused a large amount of suspicion in the investigators. A crime scene investigation was carried out, along with a botanical morphological survey on small vegetations found on the corpse. An autopsy was also performed. Botanical analysis showed some samples of Xanthium spinosum, thus leading to the discovery of the falsification of the crime scene although the location of the true crime scene remained a mystery. The botanical analysis, along with circumstantial data and autopsy findings, led to the discovery of the real crime scene and became crucial as part of the legal evidence regarding the falsity of the statements made to investigators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabella Aquila
- Institute of Legal Medicine, University "La Sapienza" of Rome, Catanzaro, Italy.,Institute of Legal Medicine, University "Magna Graecia" of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Santo Gratteri
- Chair of Legal Medicine, University "Magna Graecia" of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Matteo A Sacco
- Chair of Legal Medicine, University "Magna Graecia" of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Pietrantonio Ricci
- Chair of Legal Medicine, University "Magna Graecia" of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
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Hunter MC, Pozhitkov AE, Noble PA. Accurate predictions of postmortem interval using linear regression analyses of gene meter expression data. Forensic Sci Int 2017; 275:90-101. [PMID: 28329724 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.02.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2016] [Revised: 12/21/2016] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
In criminal and civil investigations, postmortem interval is used as evidence to help sort out circumstances at the time of human death. Many biological, chemical, and physical indicators can be used to determine the postmortem interval - but most are not accurate. Here, we sought to validate an experimental design to accurately predict the time of death by analyzing the expression of hundreds of upregulated genes in two model organisms, the zebrafish and mouse. In a previous study, the death of healthy adults was conducted under strictly controlled conditions to minimize the effects of confounding factors such as lifestyle and temperature. A total of 74,179 microarray probes were calibrated using the Gene Meter approach and the transcriptional profiles of 1063 genes that significantly increased in abundance were assembled into a time series spanning from life to 48 or 96h postmortem. In this study, the experimental design involved splitting the transcription profiles into training and testing datasets, randomly selecting groups of profiles, determining the modeling parameters of the genes to postmortem time using over- and/or perfectly-defined linear regression analyses, and calculating the fit (R2) and slope of predicted versus actual postmortem times. This design was repeated several thousand to million times to find the top predictive groups of gene transcription profiles. A group of eleven zebrafish genes yielded R2 of 1 and a slope of 0.99, while a group of seven mouse liver genes yielded a R2 of 0.98 and a slope of 0.97, and seven mouse brain genes yielded a R2 of 0.95 and a slope of 0.87. In all cases, groups of gene transcripts yielded better postmortem time predictions than individual gene transcripts. The significance of this study is two-fold: selected groups of gene transcripts provide accurate prediction of postmortem time, and the successfully validated experimental design can now be used to accurately predict postmortem time in cadavers.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Colby Hunter
- Ph.D. Microbiology Program, Department of Biological Sciences, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL, 36104, USA.
| | - Alex E Pozhitkov
- Department of Oral Health Sciences, University of Washington, Box 357444, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
| | - Peter A Noble
- Ph.D. Microbiology Program, Department of Biological Sciences, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL, 36104, USA; Department of Oral Health Sciences, University of Washington, Box 357444, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA; Department of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, Box 355061, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA.
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Margiotta G, Bacaro G, Carnevali E, Severini S, Bacci M, Gabbrielli M. Forensic botany as a useful tool in the crime scene: Report of a case. J Forensic Leg Med 2015; 34:24-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jflm.2015.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2015] [Revised: 05/12/2015] [Accepted: 05/13/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Mądra A, Frątczak K, Grzywacz A, Matuszewski S. Long-term study of pig carrion entomofauna. Forensic Sci Int 2015; 252:1-10. [DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2014] [Revised: 03/16/2015] [Accepted: 04/10/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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