Stepping towards pollen DNA metabarcoding: A breakthrough in forensic sciences

This review is engaged in determining the capability of plant pollen as a significant source of evidence for the linkage between suspects and crime location in forensic sciences. Research and review articles were collected from Google Scholar, the Web of Science, and PubMed. Articles were searched using specific keywords such as “Forensic Palynology,” “Pollen metabarcoding,” “Plant forensics,” and “Pollen” AND “criminal investigation.” Boolean logic was also utilized to narrow the articles to be included in this review article. Through the literature and exploratory research, it has been observed in the current study that with advancements in technology, forensic palynology has found its application in creating an association between the crime scene and suspected individuals to have a link to it, as pollen DNA is a long-lasting investigative tool that can effectively help forensic investigations. Moreover, the literature shows that the DNA of pollen and spores has helped forensic scientists link suspects to crime scenes, and the introduction of pollen DNA metabarcoding tools has eased the efforts of palynologists to analyze pollen DNA. The introduction of DNA metabarcoding techniques to analyze pollen from plants has helped identify the geological locations of the plants and ultimately identify the culprit.