Problems of Taxonomic Identification of Unique Objects of Animal Origin by Mitochondrial DNA Markers for the Purposes of Forensic Examination

Direct identification in forensic molecular genetic examination is a direct comparison of identifying characteristics, such as DNA profiles of the identification object, with identifying characteristics of the objects of comparison, including those obtained from the database. At the same time, the identification of objects of animal origin is carried out by comparing the sequencing results: base sequences of the target DNA fragment with various DNA nucleotide sequences stored in international databases. The purpose of this work was to establish the species identity of a sample of animal origin – the “Freeze-dried Shark” pet food. Despite the fact that this study was conducted outside the framework of forensic molecular genetic examination, its results illustrate possible methodological problems associated with establishing the taxonomic affiliation of rare objects of animal origin by molecular genetic methods. The authors of the article show that the study of unknown objects of animal origin using DNA analysis under forensic examination will require the development and application of unique private expert techniques in some cases. They also demonstrate the feasibility of creating a unified national database of genetic information in Russia with special control requirements.