How to get your goat: automated identification of species from MALDI-ToF spectra

A groundbreaking automated method for identifying animal species from archaeological samples using MALDI-ToF spectra has been developed, offering both accuracy and confidence measures. The approach leverages cross-correlation of peptide masses derived from collagen sequences to classify samples efficiently, addressing the limitations of manual examination which is time-consuming and lacks a confidence metric. Tested on parchment folia from an 12th-century Gospel of Luke manuscript linked to St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury, UK, this method matched 80 out of 81 classifications from previous studies while providing quantifiable confidence levels. This advancement not only streamlines species identification but also enhances the reliability of archaeological findings related to UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Canterbury Cathedral and St Augustine's Abbey.

Hickinbotham, S., Fiddyment, S., Stinson, T. L., & Collins, M. J. (2020). How to get your goat: automated identification of species from MALDI-ToF spectra. Bioinformatics, 36(12), 3719–3725. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btaa181