Forensic palynology: Current status of a rarely used technique in the United States of America

Bryant, Vaughn; Jones, G. D.

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2005.11.021

Cited by 77 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Among archaeopalynologists that apply their experience to forensic cases, pollen concentration methods are used (Bryant and Jones, 2006). However, there is a surprising disregard of the demonstrated value of pollen concentration among other forensic palynologists (Maher, 1981).…”

Section: Transferring Archaeopalynology Methods To Forensic Palynologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary analysis of Piraino 1, Sicily, Italy: the role of archaeopalynology in forensic science

Piombino‐Mascali

Zink

Reinhard

et al. 2013

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Section: Transferring Archaeopalynology Methods To Forensic Palynologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary analysis of Piraino 1, Sicily, Italy: the role of archaeopalynology in forensic science

Piombino‐Mascali

Zink

Reinhard

et al. 2013

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…Forensic palynology is the use of pollen to link persons or objects with particular places and times (Horrocks and Walsh 1998;Taylor and Skene 2003;Bryant and Jones 2006;Mathewes 2006). This technique is of great utility to forensics because (i) pollen is a nearly ubiquitous feature of the environment; (ii) different geographic locations have different pollen signatures, allowing for inference related to spatial tracking; (iii) plants flower at different times, allowing for temporal inference; and (iv) pollen is extremely durable (hence its widespread use in paleontological studies) and thus can be utilized for forensic studies for decades or longer after sample collection (Horrocks and Walsh 1998;Bryant and Jones 2006;Mathewes 2006;Mildenhall 2006;Mildenhall et al 2006;Wiltshire 2006;Walsh and Horrocks 2008).…”

Section: Forensic Palynologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Like many other palynological applications, forensic palynology as currently practiced is reliant on visual microscopic identification of pollen grains by an expert palynologist (Bryant and Jones 2006;Mildenhall et al 2006;Walsh and Horrocks 2008), and DNA metabarcoding could very likely increase its applicability to a broader range of situations (Bell et al 2016). For example, forensic palynology could take greater advantage of DNA barcoding when combined with a universal database of geographic and temporal knowledge of plants (Goodman et al 2015).…”

Section: Forensic Palynologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollen DNA barcoding: current applications and future prospects

Bell

Vere

Keller

et al. 2016

Genome

201

170

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Identification of the species origin of pollen has many applications, including assessment of plant-pollinator networks, reconstruction of ancient plant communities, product authentication, allergen monitoring, and forensics. Such applications, however, have previously been limited by microscopy-based identification of pollen, which is slow, has low taxonomic resolution, and has few expert practitioners. One alternative is pollen DNA barcoding, which could overcome these issues. Recent studies demonstrate that both chloroplast and nuclear barcoding markers can be amplified from pollen. These recent validations of pollen metabarcoding indicate that now is the time for researchers in various fields to consider applying these methods to their research programs. In this paper, we review the nascent field of pollen DNA barcoding and discuss potential new applications of this technology, highlighting existing limitations and future research developments that will improve its utility in a wide range of applications.Key words: DNA metabarcoding, metagenomics, pollen, palynology, high-throughput sequencing, next-generation sequencing.Résumé : L'identification de l'espèce à l'origine d'un pollen se prête à de nombreuses applications dont la description des réseaux plante-pollinisateur, la reconstruction de communautés de plantes anciennes, l'authentification de produits, la surveillance des allergènes et les enquêtes médicolégales. Cependant, ces applications ont précédemment été limitées à l'identification du pollen par examen microscopique, un processus lent, à faible résolution taxonomique et qui compte peu de praticiens experts. Une alternative est l'identification du pollen par le recours aux codes à barres de l'ADN, une avenue qui permettrait de surmonter plusieurs de ces limitations. De récentes études ont montré qu'il était possible d'amplifier les marqueurs de codage tant chloroplastiques que nucléaires à partir du pollen. Ces récentes validations du métacodage à barres chez le pollen indiquent qu'il est maintenant opportun pour les chercheurs dans divers domaines de considérer l'emploi de ces méthodes dans leurs programmes de recherche. Dans cet article, les auteurs passent en revue le domaine naissant du codage à barres du pollen et discutent des nouvelles applications potentielles de cette technologie en mettant en lumière les limitations existantes ainsi que de futurs développements qui pourraient accroître son utilité dans un grand nombre d'applications. [Traduit par la Rédaction] Mots-clés : métacodage à barres, métagénomique, pollen, palynologie, séquençage à haut débit, séquençage de nouvelle génération.

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“…One of the IN samples was picked up according to the method of sampling "by pinches" (e.g., used in forensic palynology; Horrocks et al, 1998;Bryant and Jones, 2006): soil sub-samples were taken from several points over a c. 1 m 2 area, mixed, and put into a single small plastic bag per sample. Since the pollination of different cultivated crops occurs at different periods, normally between April and June in the western and central Mediterranean (Fornaciari et al, 2000;Osborne et al, 2000), the samples were collected in the spring or summer seasons, i.e., immediately before (early April) or after (July) the blooming periods of the olive trees.…”

Section: Pollen Sampling and Study Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Representativeness of Olea Pollen from Olive Groves and the Late Holocene Landscape Reconstruction in Central Mediterranean

et al. 2017

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Modern pollen spectra are an invaluable reference tool for paleoenvironmental and cultural landscape reconstructions, but the importance of knowing the pollen rain released from orchards remains underexplored. In particular, the role of cultivated trees is in past and current agrarian landscapes has not been fully investigated. Here, we present a pollen analysis of 70 surface soil samples taken from 12 olive groves in Basilicata and Tuscany, two regions of Italy that exemplify this cultivation in the Mediterranean basin. This study was carried out to assess the representativeness of Olea pollen in modern cultivations. Although many variables can influence the amount of pollen observed in soils, it was clear that most of the pollen was deposited below the trees in the olive groves. A rapid decline in the olive pollen percentages (c. 85% on average) was found when comparing samples taken from IN vs. OUT of each grove. The mean percentages of Olea pollen obtained from the archeological sites close to the studied orchards suggest that olive groves were established far from the Roman farmhouses of Tuscany. Further south, in the core of the Mediterranean basin, the cultivation of Olea trees was likely situated ∼500-1,000 m from the rural sites in Basilicata, and dated from the Hellenistic to the Medieval period.

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Forensic palynology: Current status of a rarely used technique in the United States of America

Cited by 77 publications

References 39 publications

Dietary analysis of Piraino 1, Sicily, Italy: the role of archaeopalynology in forensic science

Dietary analysis of Piraino 1, Sicily, Italy: the role of archaeopalynology in forensic science

Pollen DNA barcoding: current applications and future prospects

The Representativeness of Olea Pollen from Olive Groves and the Late Holocene Landscape Reconstruction in Central Mediterranean

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