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Geographic origin determination of Brazilian Cannabis sativa L. (Marihuana) by multi-element concentration. Forensic Sci Int 2020; 315:110459. [PMID: 32853973 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Revised: 08/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The Marihuana Polygon production of Cannabis sativa L. supplies the northeastern region of Brazil and represents 30% of the nation's market. The international trend of indoor cultivation is also occurring in Brazil, and the Brazilian Federal Police (BFP) has been increasing its apprehension of cannabis seeds sent by mail. The present work aims to assess the utility of the multi-element composition of different cannabis plant parts and soil samples where the plants were cultivated to determine their geographic origin. Statistical tools were applied to classification of marijuana samples from distinct geographic regions within northeastern Brazil, including indoor cultivated samples. The multi-element quantification was determined using inductively-coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and the data were compared by the Kruskal-Wallis H test, and subsequently, multiple discriminant analysis (MDA). The results of the multi-element concentration of cannabis plant samples were also subjected to a principal component analysis (PCA) and an orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The cannabis plant samples from the Marihuana Polygon could be clearly separated from those cultivated indoors, and the distance between them was detectable. The MDA revealed that phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, selenium, and arsenic concentrations were used as variables for this separation. Our results demonstrate that multi-element composition analysis can be used to indicate the origin or cultivation location of cannabis plants. Routine laboratory analyses consisting of multi-element composition combined with statistical analyses provide a reliable tool by which C. sativa movement, cultivation, and interdiction efforts in Brazil may be assessed.
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de Oliveira Pereira Ribeiro L, Avila E, Mariot RF, Fett MS, de Oliveira Camargo FA, Alho CS. Evaluation of two 13-loci STR multiplex system regarding identification and origin discrimination of Brazilian Cannabis sativa samples. Int J Legal Med 2020; 134:1603-1612. [PMID: 32583082 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-020-02338-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
According to the Brazilian Federal Police (BFP), the Brazilian Cannabis sativa illicit market is mainly supplied by drugs originated from Paraguay and Northeastern Brazil (Marijuana Polygon region). These two known routes, the increasing indoor cultivations (supported by online market), and drugs from Uruguay are also in BFP's sight. Forensic tools to aid police intelligence were published in the past years. In genetics, microsatellites have gained attention due to their individualization capability. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of two STR multiplex systems previously proposed in 94 Cannabis sativa samples seized in Brazil. Principal coordinate analyses (PCoA), forensic parameters, and genetic structure analysis were executed. Both panels were effective in individualizing and origin discriminating all samples, and the system proposed in 2015 demonstrated better results. For this marker set, the probability of identity for a random individual is approximately one in 65 billion; also, the PCoA shows a clear genetic distinction among samples according to its origin. Bayesian inference populational structure analysis indicated a significant genetic diversity among seizure groups, matching with its origin. Overall, the STR multiplex systems were able to achieve its purpose in individualizing and differentiating, according to geographic region, Brazilian Cannabis sp. samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas de Oliveira Pereira Ribeiro
- Escola de Ciências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. .,Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia - INCT Ciências Forenses, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
| | - Eduardo Avila
- Escola de Ciências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia - INCT Ciências Forenses, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Departamento da Polícia Federal no Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Roberta Fogliatto Mariot
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia - INCT Ciências Forenses, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Mauro Sander Fett
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia - INCT Ciências Forenses, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Departamento da Polícia Federal no Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Departamento de Ciências do Solo, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Flávio Anastácio de Oliveira Camargo
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia - INCT Ciências Forenses, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Departamento de Ciências do Solo, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Clarice Sampaio Alho
- Escola de Ciências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia - INCT Ciências Forenses, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Fett MS, Mariot RF, Avila E, Alho CS, Stefenon VM, de Oliveira Camargo FA. 13-loci STR multiplex system for Brazilian seized samples of marijuana: individualization and origin differentiation. Int J Legal Med 2018; 133:373-384. [PMID: 30324327 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-018-1940-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2018] [Accepted: 10/09/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
It is known that Cannabis in Brazil could either originate from Paraguay or be cultivated in Brazil. While consumer markets in the North and Northeast regions are maintained by national production, the rest of the country is supplied with Cannabis from Paraguay. However, the Brazilian Federal Police (BFP) has exponentially increased the seizure number of Cannabis seeds sent by mail. For this reason, the aim of the study was to assess the 13-loci short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex system proposed by Houston et al. (2015) to evaluate the power of such markers in individualization and origin differentiation of Cannabis sativa samples seized in Brazil by the BFP. To do so, 72 Cannabis samples seized in Brazil by BFP were analyzed. The principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and probability identity (PI) analysis were computed. Additionally, the Cannabis samples' genotypes were subjected to comparison by Kruskal-Wallis H, followed by a multiple discriminant analysis (MDA). All samples analyzed revealed a distinct genetic profile. PCoA clearly discriminated the seizure sets based on their geographic origin. A combination of seven loci was enough to differentiate samples' genotypes, and the PI for a random sample is approximately one in 50 billion. The Cannabis samples were 100% correct as classified by Kruskal-Wallis H, followed by an MDA. The results of this study demonstrate that the 13-loci STR multiplex system successfully achieved the aim of sample individualization and origin differentiation and suggest that it could be a useful tool to help BFP intelligence in tracing back-trade routes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Sander Fett
- Soil Science Department, Agronomy Faculty, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Avenida Bento Gonçalves, 7712, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91540-000, Brazil.,Setor Técnico-Científico, Superintendência Regional do Departamento de Polícia Federal no Rio Grande do Sul, Avenida Ipiranga, 1365, Bairro Azenha, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 90160-093, Brazil
| | - Roberta Fogliatto Mariot
- Soil Science Department, Agronomy Faculty, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Avenida Bento Gonçalves, 7712, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91540-000, Brazil.
| | - Eduardo Avila
- Setor Técnico-Científico, Superintendência Regional do Departamento de Polícia Federal no Rio Grande do Sul, Avenida Ipiranga, 1365, Bairro Azenha, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 90160-093, Brazil.,Bioscience Faculty, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Avenida Ipiranga, 6681, Bairro Partenon, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 90619-900, Brazil
| | - Clarice Sampaio Alho
- Bioscience Faculty, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Avenida Ipiranga, 6681, Bairro Partenon, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 90619-900, Brazil
| | - Valdir Marcos Stefenon
- Interdisciplinary Center of Biotechnology Research, Federal University of the Pampa (UNIPAMPA), Rua Aluízio Barros Macedo, Br 290, km 423, Bairro Piraí, São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 97300-000, Brazil
| | - Flávio Anastácio de Oliveira Camargo
- Soil Science Department, Agronomy Faculty, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Avenida Bento Gonçalves, 7712, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91540-000, Brazil
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