College of Science & Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia.
Genes (Basel). 2021 Apr 1;12(4):515. doi: 10.3390/genes12040515.
Animal forensic genetics, where the focus is on non-human species, is broadly divided in two: domestic species and wildlife. When traces of a domestic species are relevant to a forensic investigation the question of species identification is less important, as the material comes from either a dog or a cat for instance, but more relevant may be the identification of the actual pet. Identification of a specific animal draws on similar methods to those used in human identification by using microsatellite markers. The use of cat short tandem repeats to link a cat hair to a particular cat paved the way for similar identification of dogs. Wildlife forensic science is becoming accepted as a recognised discipline. There is growing acceptance that the illegal trade in wildlife is having devasting effects on the numbers of iconic species. Loci on the mitochondrial genome are used to identify the most likely species present. Sequencing the whole locus may not be needed if specific bases can be targeted. There can be benefits of increased sensitivity using mitochondrial loci for species testing, but occasionally there is an issue if hybrids are present. The use of massively parallel DNA sequencing has a role in the identification of the ingredients of traditional medicines where studies found protected species to be present, and a potential role in future species assignments. Non-human animal forensic testing can play a key role in investigations provided that it is performed to the same standards as all other DNA profiling processes.
动物法医学遗传学，其重点是非人类物种，广泛分为两类：家养物种和野生动物。当与法医学调查相关的痕迹来自于某一种家养物种时，物种鉴定的问题就不那么重要了，因为材料来自狗或猫等，但更相关的可能是实际宠物的鉴定。通过使用微卫星标记对特定动物进行识别，采用了与人类识别相似的方法。使用猫短串联重复序列将猫毛与特定的猫联系起来，为类似的狗识别铺平了道路。野生动物法医学正逐渐被接受为一门公认的学科。越来越多的人认识到，野生动物的非法贸易对标志性物种的数量产生了毁灭性的影响。线粒体基因组上的基因座被用于识别最可能存在的物种。如果可以针对特定的碱基进行靶向测序，则可能不需要对整个基因座进行测序。使用线粒体基因座进行物种检测可以提高灵敏度，这具有一定的优势，但如果存在杂种，则偶尔会出现问题。大规模平行 DNA 测序的使用在鉴定传统药物的成分方面具有一定的作用，在未来的物种鉴定中也具有潜在的作用。只要非人类动物法医检测符合所有其他 DNA 分析过程的标准，它就可以在调查中发挥关键作用。
