The application of DNA methods to timber tracking and origin verification

Abstract

<jats:p>Molecular marker methods can be used at a variety of levels to identify wood, from species identification, through regional and concession source verification, down to tracking individual logs. This short review describes the most appropriate molecular marker methods currently being applied or developed for: species identification (DNA barcoding), verification of source, either at the regional scale (through phylogeographic methods) or concession (population genetic assignment), and for tracking individual logs or wood products (DNA fingerprinting). This review finds that for almost all applications, molecular marker methods offer tremendous promise for use in timber tracking at all levels and can be easily automated offering quick, cheap and high-volume processing and with an expressed statistical certainty of results. However, despite the promise of molecular marker methods, some problems remain, most notably in identifying variation at gene loci that distinguish between the scale of biological organization of interest (from species to individuals), and appropriate DNA extraction methods for dried wood and old tissue sources, and recent advances in these areas are reviewed.</jats:p>