Species Identification Standards

What are species identification standards?

Species identification standards, as the name suggests, refer to standard substances or reference materials with clear species identity, high purity, and known properties, used to identify biological species.

Key Features of Species Identification Standards

*Species specificity: The source species has been rigorously authenticated by reputable experts or institutions, ensuring 100% accuracy.

*High purity: Typically, the material is a tissue, cell, DNA, or protein extract from a single species, minimizing contamination from other species.

*Complete information: Typically, a detailed "instruction sheet" is included, detailing the species, source site, preparation method, storage conditions, and most important characteristic data (e.g., DNA barcode sequence, protein fingerprint).

Common forms of species identification standards include dried tissue samples (e.g., muscle, hair), DNA extracts, cell lines, protein extracts, or whole genomes.

The Role of Species Identification Standards

Their core role is to provide an accurate, reliable, and traceable reference for species identification. This is reflected in:

1.Ensuring the accuracy of identification results: During experiments, using standards as positive controls verifies the effectiveness and reliability of the entire identification process (from DNA extraction, PCR amplification, to sequencing analysis). If even the standard is incorrectly identified, it indicates a flaw in the experiment itself.

2.Standardizing and ensuring comparability of results: Results obtained by different laboratories, at different times, and using different instruments and reagents may vary. When everyone uses the same standard, a unified standard is established, allowing data from different sources to be compared and verified, ensuring reproducibility and consistency in scientific research.

3.Establishing and validating identification methods: When developing a new species identification technique (such as designing new PCR primers or developing a new detection kit), it is essential to use known standards to verify the method's specificity and sensitivity.

4.As the source of metrological traceability: In areas with strict quality control (such as forensic identification and drug testing), test results need to be traceable to internationally or nationally recognized standard substances. Species identification standards provide this traceability, making the results legally binding.

Application Scenarios

Species identification standards have a wide range of applications, encompassing multiple areas of the life sciences:

1. Forensic Evidence

Application: Identifying the animal or human origin of biological samples (such as blood, hair, and tissue fragments) at crime scenes. For example, distinguishing human blood from pet dog blood, or identifying the species of smuggled ivory or rhino horn.

Standards: DNA standards from various common animals and humans.

2. Food Safety and Market Regulation

Application: Combating food fraud and verifying the true composition of food products. For example, testing for adulteration of cheaper meats (such as duck passed off as lamb), verifying pork in "pure" beef jerky, confirming the authenticity of high-priced tuna varieties, and verifying the authenticity of traditional Chinese medicines (such as cordyceps and bird's nests).

Standards: DNA or protein standards from various commercial animals (cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, fish, etc.).

3. Species Protection and Customs Inspection and Quarantine

Purpose 1: Identify smuggled endangered wild animals and plants and their products (such as furs, timber, and Chinese medicinal materials), combat illegal wildlife trade, and comply with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Purpose 2: Species identification of imported agricultural products, timber, etc. to prevent the introduction of invasive species and pests and diseases.

Standards: Standards of various endangered species and commonly imported and exported plants and animals.

4. Quality Control and Basic Research in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Purpose: Ensure the authenticity of Chinese medicinal materials, preventing ineffectiveness or poisoning due to species confusion (for example, the easily confused Pinellia ternata and Pinellia ternata). Used to accurately identify sample species in ecological and evolutionary biology research.

Standards: Standards of the original plants and animals of various Chinese medicinal materials (e.g., "origin identification").

5. Drug and Cosmetic Safety

Purpose: Detect whether drugs and cosmetics contain illegally added ingredients from endangered animals (such as tiger bones and bear bile) or allergens.

Standards: Standards of relevant species.