Paleogeneticist view of leather: The role of mitochondrial DNA to uncover the mysteries of fake leather and its products

Currently, Leather-based products are manufactured in abundance, but the fact is; most of these products are manufactured using fake materials which cause a major fraud issue in the market. The extravagance of leather trade led to the extinction of numerous species. Almost 33% of exotic leather comes from endangered species. This trade is shrewdly disguised under the "Fur" industry. With the ability to extract and analyze DNA from ancient substance, molecular species identification methods have been recently developed, including the use of DNA amplification using PCR and derived methods of molecular biology. At a deeper perspective, degraded DNA identification has gained significant advances in the field of criminalistics, forensic science, as well as fraud detection and quality control in food. This study will illustrate the objectives of identifying species origin of leather either for frauds identification and endangered species protection as well. We are presenting also a general assessment of the chemical degradations of DNA that can be extracted from manufactured leather. During tanning process, the rehydration of the skin in warm acid solution promotes the DNA hydrolysis. Rehydration is followed by immersion of the skin in the lime water which induces the DNA oxidation. Finally, adding tannins which are polyphenols known for their inhibitory effect on PCR, will significantly decrease the chance of DNA amplification. In conclusion, one can make an analogy between all these leather processing conditions and the conditions affecting a fossil in its burial environment, therefore, it is essential that the DNA of leather must be considered and analyzed as ancient DNA.