Abstract:

DNA metabarcoding is a new technology for species identification that has emerged in recent years with the development of high-throughput sequencing techniques. This technology combines the advantages of DNA barcoding technology and high-throughput sequencing technology, which can simultaneously identify the source of multiple species in the mixed samples. This review introduces the definition of DNA metabarcoding technology and its current application requirements. Then, we review the application status of DNA metabarcoding technology in judicial practice, such as food and drug supervision, wildlife crime fighting and criminal investigations. Finally, we summarize the difficulties and challenges of metabarcoding in the field of forensic identification of animals and plants, and discuss the development and application prospects of this technology. At present, DNA metabarcoding technology has been applied in many fields of life sciences, but its use in the forensic identification of animals and plants is still in its early stage. Although it still faces many challenges, with the rapid development of sequencing technology and biotechnology, DNA metabarcoding technology will achieve routine applications in the field of forensic identification of animals and plants, providing technical support to combat wildlife-related criminals and supervise food and drug safety and legality.

Key words: DNA barcoding, DNA metabarcoding, high-throughput generation sequencing, species identification of animals and plants