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OSAC RESEARCH NEEDS ASSESSMENT FORM

Title of research need:

Development of proteomic techniques and databases for species and sex 

identification when forensically useful DNA is not available

Describe

the need:

Taxonomic identification of questioned specimens of forensic importance using either 

morphological- or DNA-based methods is an important component of wildlife forensics. 

Often, degraded or processed source materials such as leathers, furs, hair, feathers and 

bones make the recovery of high-quality DNA challenging, thus limiting the ability to 

accurately identify the taxonomic origin of an evidence sample. When morphological 

identification is not suitable for a given evidentiary item or genetic material cannot be 

recovered from the evidentiary source material, an alternative method is required for 

accurate taxonomic identification. One potential method is proteomics-based identification 

(1, 2) which uses mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques to characterize the peptide 

sequences in a sample (3). In order to apply targeted proteomic assays to wildlife forensics, 

the creation of reference databases, workflows, and protocols must be conducted for 

taxonomic groups of forensic interest using suitable source materials. The application of 

proteomics to wildlife forensics would fill the unmet need for identifying the origin of 

source materials that cannot otherwise be identified using current laboratory methods.

Keyword(s): Protein, taxonomic identification, sex identification, forensic, proteomics, databases, 

targeted assay

Submitting subcommittee(s): Wildlife Forensic Biology Date Approved: 10/7/2022

Background Information:

1. Does this research need address a gap(s) in a current or planned standard? (ex.: Field identification system 

for on scene opioid detection and confirmation)

No current or planned standard identified.

2. Are you aware of any ongoing research that may address this research need that has not yet been published 

(e.g., research presented in conference proceedings, studies that you or a colleague have participated in but 

have yet to be published)?

Limited pilot studies to identify ancient or degraded archaeological non-human remains, including ivory and 

hair, using forensic proteomics techniques developed for human forensics.
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3. Key bibliographic references relating to this research need: (ex.: Toll, L., Standifer, K. M., Massotte, D., eds. 

(2019). Current Topics in Opioid Research. Lausanne: Frontiers Media SA. doi: 10.3389/978-2-88963-180-3)

1. Mooradian, A. D., van der Post, S., Naegle, K. M., & Held, J. M. (2020). ProteoClade: A taxonomic 

toolkit for multi-species and metaproteomic analysis. PLoS Computational Biology, 16(3), e1007741. 

2. Karlsson, R., Gonzales-Siles, L., Boulund, F., Svensson-Stadler, L., Skovbjerg, S., Karlsson, A., Davidson, 

M., Hulth, S., Kristiansson, E., & Moore, E. R. (2015). Proteotyping: Proteomic characterization, 

classification and identification of microorganisms--A prospectus. Systematic and Applied 

Microbiology, 38(4), 246–257.

3. Brandt, L. Ø., Schmidt, A. L., Mannering, U., Sarret, M., Kelstrup, C. D., Olsen, J. V., & Cappellini, E. 

(2014). Species identification of archaeological skin objects from Danish bogs: comparison between 

mass spectrometry-based peptide sequencing and microscopy-based methods. PloS One, 9(9), 

e106875.

4. Review the annual operational/research needs published by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) at 

https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/forensic-science-research-and-development-technology-working-groupoperational#latest? Is your research need identified by NIJ?

Forensic Biology/DNA, Scientific Research, Increased information about the discriminatory power and 

sensitivity of alternate biological analyses (e.g., proteomics, microbiome, plants, animals) to associate 

individuals with crime scene evidence.

5. In what ways would the research results improve current laboratory capabilities?

Increase the ability to accept and test a wide range of source materials from various species, sexes, and 

populations. Also increase communication and dissemination of databases and sharing of materials and 

databases among wildlife forensic laboratories.

6. In what ways would the research results improve understanding of the scientific basis for the 

subcommittee(s)?

The availability and use of protein databases for taxonomic species or sex identification is limited and 

requires further research to be practical for wildlife forensic casework use. The ability to identify species 

and other taxonomic groups from evidentiary source materials requiring identification in casework that do 

not harbor viable DNA is critical. 

7. In what ways would the research results improve services to the criminal justice system?

The ability to provide objective, scientific information pertinent to species identification and regulations 

allows the criminal justice system to determine if a violation has occurred. With this information, true 

violations can be prosecuted, and non-violations can be dismissed, thus informing effective enforcement of 

laws and regulations. Without the ability to identify evidentiary materials that are potentially illegal or 

criminal violations, then these cases cannot be made using scientific- or forensic-based evidence.
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8. Status assessment (I, II, III, or IV): I

Major gap in 

current 

knowledge

Minor gap in 

current 

knowledge

No or limited

current research is 

being conducted I III

Existing current 

research is being 

conducted II IV

This research need has been identified by one or more subcommittees of OSAC and is being provided as an 

informational resource to the community.