Forensic Botany as a Useful Tool in Crime Scene Investigation

Plant remains are often found in various parts of the crime scene, including on the dead bodies and objects found at the crime scene. An experienced identification system can be beneficial in accurately identifying and tracking plant evidence at a crime scene. Due to the advances made in the field of DNA, DNA barcoding has become an important tool to discover unknown plant species and plant remains in a wide range of fields including forensic medicine and science. The main purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze the two gene regions of matK and RBCL in two species of woody plants, hawthorn and silver cedar.

Genomic DNA of samples collected from hawthorn and silver cypress plants was extracted after transfer in liquid nitrogen by dnazist company kit. The matK and RBCL gene regions were examined on the extracted DNA samples, by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The amplified fragments were purified and sequenced and their phylogenetic tree was plotted by MEGA6 software.

The results of this study showed that the two markers, matK and rbcl, can be used as two appropriate gene markers to identify two plant species, hawthorn and Silver cypress, and these two plant species can be well separated from each other through these two markers.

By using genotyping of plant remains found in the crime scene, which do not have a specific morphology, it is possible to identify the desired plant species using DNA genetic markers, which can be used as a useful tool in criminal science and forensic medicine.