U.S. flag
      An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.
        Here's how you know
      Here's how you know**Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
      **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** (
            A locked padlock
            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Menu

      
        close

            
            
                                              About NIJ
        
                    
  
          About NIJ
      
    
          The NIJ Director
          How NIJ Is Organized
          Mission and Guiding Principles
          Research and Development Process
          Strategic Framework
          Assessments of NIJ
          Annual Reports & Reports to Congress
          Staff Directory
          Funding & Awards
        
                    
  
          Funding & Awards
      
    
          Current Funding
          Forthcoming Funding
          Expired Funding
          Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
          Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
          Fellowship & Student Programs
          Travel Scholarships
          NIJ Challenge Program
          Library & Multimedia
        
                    
  
          Library & Multimedia
      
    
          NIJ Journal
          Podcasts
          Publications Listing
          Multimedia Listing
          Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
          Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
          Software & Databases
          Datasets
          Patents
          Topics
        
                    
  
          Topics
      
    
          Article Listing
          Corrections
          Courts
          Crime Prevention
          Crimes
          Drugs and Crime
          Equipment and Technology
          Forensic Sciences
          Youth Justice
          Justice System Reform
          Law Enforcement
          Tribal Crime and Justice
          Victims of Crime
          Events
        
                    
  
          Events
      
    
          NIJ 2024 Research Conference
          Scheduled Events
          On-Demand Events
          Research Meetings & Workshops
          NIJ-Hosted Online Training

                            
                                About
          Contact Us
          Subscribe
          Topics A-Z
                  Share
FacebookXLinkedInRedditPinterestEmail Home
                            Funding & Awards
 Proteomic and microRNA markers of fly development: Stable correlates of insect age to improve forensic entomology casework
Award Information
Awardee
              Texas A&M AgriLife Research
Award #
              2015-DN-BX-K020
Funding Category
              Competitive
Location
                    College Station, TX
Congressional District
              17
Status
              Open
Funding First Awarded
              2015
Total funding (to date)
              $546,742
Original Solicitation
              NIJ FY 15 Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2015, $546,742)
As submitted by the proposer: 
Insect evidence can provide valuable information during death investigations. Since carrion-feeding flies often colonize remains soon after death, estimates of insect age derived from immature insects collected from a body can provide information regarding the timing of a death, including the postmortem interval itself if some assumptions are satisfied. Predictions of insect age rely on temporal correlates of age (traditionally developmental stage or size) on or in an insect specimen and recently mRNA and cuticular hydrocarbons have been promoted as molecular markers of insect age that can provide more precise estimates of insect age as compared to traditional physical markers of age. However, both of these types of molecules have limitations. Cuticular hydrocarbons are known to differ among populations of insects that can be found in different thermal environments, as one function of these molecules is to limit insect desiccation and it is unknown if they are affected by storage in ethanol or other common preservatives of immature insects. Further, mRNA is much more unstable than DNA as evidence  a feature that limits its usefulness in real-world settings as casework samples are often not ideal for molecular biology applications and cultural shifts in preservation practices are difficult to implement. This project is designed to identify molecular markers (microRNAs and proteins) that are more likely to be preserved during the normal collection of insect evidence and provide similar types of precise information regarding the developmental progress of immature insects of forensic importance. The project will target a stage of development associated with imprecise estimates of age and evaluate the usefulness of microRNA and proteins in developing more precise estimates of insect age through the application of high throughput sequencing on the HiSeq platform and 2D-DIGE proteomic experiments coupled with mass spectrographic identification of differentially expressed protein spots. This process will be done in four separate species of forensic importance, including one that is common in casework in the Houston area but has little developmental data associated with it. The next step of the proposal will be to confirm the genetic and environmental stability of identified markers and to validate the usefulness of these analyses by doing blind validations of the methods with mock casework samples. The successful completion of the project should move the field toward doing actual casework with molecular markers of age - improving the precision of age estimates compared to traditional methods.

This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law.

ca/ncf



  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      Identification and Characterization of Small RNA Markers of Age in the Blow Fly Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)
                  Interaction of age and temperature on heat shock protein expression, sperm count, and sperm viability of the adult black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)
                  An Evaluation of Differentially Spliced Genes as Markers of Sex for Forensic Entomology
                  Developmental Plasticity of the Flesh Fly Blaesoxipha plinthopyga (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) on Different Substrates
                  Effect of Phenotype Selection on Genome Size Variation in Two Species of Diptera
                  Facultative Viviparity in a Flesh Fly (Diptera: Sarcophagidae): Forensic Implications of High Variability in Rates of Oviparity in Blaesoxipha plinthopyga (Diptera: Sarcophagidae)
                  Proteomic and microRNA Markers of Fly Development: Stable Correlates of Insect Age To Improve Forensic Entomology Casework
                  A Divide-and-Conquer Algorithm for Large-scale de Novo Transcriptome Assembly Through Combining Small Assemblies From Existing Algorithms
                  Is PMI the Hypothesis or the Null Hypothesis?
                  A Review of Bacterial Interactions With Blow Flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) of Medical, Veterinary, and Forensic Importance

  
Date Created: September 21, 2015
    
          Side navigation
  

        

  
  
              Current Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Forthcoming Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Expired Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
    
      
            
            
            
      Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
    
      
            
            
            
      Fellowship & Student Programs
    
      
            
            
            
      Travel Scholarships
    
      
            
            
            
      NIJ Challenge ProgramSimilar Awards
        
                      Climate, Culture, and Correction Officer Wellness
                  Empirical Analysis of Saw Mark Characteristics in Human Bone: Meeting Forensic Standards in Dismemberment Cases
                  Optimizing Analytical Parameters for Detection of Chronic and Single Dose Drug Exposure in Forensic Hair Analysis
 Top

      National Institute of Justice

        
        
                        About NIJ
                    About NIJ
      
    
                  How NIJ Is Organized
      
    
                  NIJ Director
      
    
                  Research Disclaimer
      
    
                  Funding & Awards
                    Funding & Awards Home
      
    
                  Awards Listing
      
    
                  Current Funding
      
    
                  Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
      
    
                  Resources
                    Events
      
    
                  Podcasts
      
    
                  Publications
      
    
                  Topics
      
    
                  Multimedia
      
    
                  Reuse Policy
      
    
                  Contacts
                    Contact NIJ
      
    
                  Staff Directory
      
    
                  Submit a FOIA Request
      
    
                  File a Civil Rights ComplaintFacebook
          
                      X
          
                      YouTube
  

      810 7th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20531
      
              Secondary Footer link menu
            Accessibility
              Plain Language
              Privacy Policy
              Legal Policies and Disclaimer
              No FEAR Act
              Freedom of Information Act
              USA.gov
              Justice.gov