Elemental characterization of antlers of various deer species using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF): A tool for forensic examination

Singh, Rina; Khanna, P. P.; Singh, Anil Kumar; Goyal, Surendra Prakash

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2022.111172

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 16 publications

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“…The XRF device analyzes the elemental content of samples through the fluorescence produced by X-rays from a low energy x-ray tube (50 kV). XRF has long been used in human medicine (Specht et al, 2019a) and has a wide range of uses in wildlife research, such as examining elemental characteristics of tissues such as antlers (Singh et al, 2022), tracking monotreme species in the illicit wildlife trade (Brandis et al, 2018), and identifying trafficked animal parts such as ivory (McLellan et al, 2022). Portable XRF units have recently become commercially available.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Portable X-ray Fluorescence for Measuring Lead in the Hair of Wild Mammals

Jones¹,

Bengsen

Specht

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Lead (Pb) toxicity is a threat to scavenging wildlife across the globe. To allow inexpensive measurement of long-term lead exposure from archived wildlife tissues, portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) devices have been optimized to measure lead concentrations in bone samples from avian species. In this study, we assessed portable XRF for hair lead measurement in an Australian mammalian scavenger, the threatened Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). We attempted to first validate the method by analysing relatively large (~1.0 g) hair samples from 39 deceased animals initially with XRF, and then with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) (validation study). We then measured lead concentrations via XRF only in a further 61 hair samples taken from live devils trapped in a plantation forestry landscape, where devils may scavenge on browsing marsupials that are regularly culled using lead ammunition (plantation study). Portable XRF hair lead measurement demonstrated a positive correlation with ICP-MS results (R2 = 0.95), although the relationship was weak at low lead concentrations. In the validation study, 95% of sampled Tasmanian devils had relatively low lead levels (≤ 3 mg/kg), but the remaining two animals showed considerably elevated lead levels (> 15 mg/kg), suggesting that harmful long-term lead exposure can occur in this species. In the plantation study, lead levels were comparable to those found in the hair of mammals in other studies, though a higher proportion (11%) of devils showed levels > 3 mg/kg than in the validation study, suggesting devils may have higher exposure to lead in a landscape subjected to regular culling of browsing mammals. Our results suggests that portable XRF is a promising emerging technology, and after some refinement, may allow non-invasive real-time measurement of lead concentrations in the hair of mammals.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Portable X-ray Fluorescence for Measuring Lead in the Hair of Wild Mammals

Jones¹,

Bengsen

Specht

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Development of a tetra-primer ARMS–PCR for identification of sika and red deer and their hybrids

Ke-xin,

Xiang,

Qing-qing

et al. 2023

ANAL. SCI.

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Accurate identification of deer-derived components is significant in food and drug authenticity. Over the years, several methods have been developed to authenticate these products; however, identifying whether female deer products are hybrids is challenging. In this study, the zinc finger protein X-linked (ZFX) gene sequences of sika deer (Cervus nippon), red deer (Cervus elaphus) and their hybrid offspring were amplified and sequenced, the X221 and X428 species-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) loci were verified, and a tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system (T-ARMS–PCR) assay was developed to identify the parent-of-origin of female sika deer, red deer, and their hybrid deer. The T-ARMS–PCR developed based on the X221 locus could identify sika deer, red deer, and their hybrid offspring according to the presence or absence of PCR product sizes of 486 bp, 352 bp, and 179 bp, respectively, just as X428 locus could identify sika deer, red deer, and their hybrid offspring according to the presence or absence of PCR product sizes of 549 bp, 213 bp, and 383 bp, respectively. Forty products labeled deer-derived ingredients randomly purchased were tested using this assay, and the results showed that the identification results based on the two SNP loci were utterly consistent with the actual sources. In addition, this method was found to be accurate, simple, convenient, and with high specificity, thus providing an essential technical reference for deer product species identification. It is also an important supplement to the identification methods of the original ingredients of existing deer products. Graphical abstract

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Elemental characterization of antlers of various deer species using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF): A tool for forensic examination

Cited by 2 publications

References 16 publications

Portable X-ray Fluorescence for Measuring Lead in the Hair of Wild Mammals

Portable X-ray Fluorescence for Measuring Lead in the Hair of Wild Mammals

Development of a tetra-primer ARMS–PCR for identification of sika and red deer and their hybrids

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