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12 pages, 835 KiB

Open AccessArticle

COIBar-RFLP Molecular Strategy Discriminates Species and Unveils Commercial Frauds in Fishery Products

by Anna Maria Pappalardo, Marta Giuga, Alessandra Raffa, Marco Nania, Luana Rossitto, Giada Santa Calogero and Venera Ferrito

Foods 2022, 11(11), 1569; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11111569 - 26 May 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3335

Abstract

The DNA analysis is the best approach to authenticate species in seafood products and to unveil frauds based on species substitution. In this study, a molecular strategy coupling Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) DNA barcoding with the consolidated methodology of Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLPs), named COIBar-RFLP, was applied for searching pattern of restriction enzyme digestion, useful to discriminate seven different fish species (juveniles of Engraulis encrasicolus and Sardina pilchardus sold in Italy as “bianchetto” and Aphia minuta sold as “rossetto”; icefish Neosalanx tangkahkeii; European perch, Perca fluviatilis and the Nile Perch, Lates niloticus; striped catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus). A total of 30 fresh and frozen samples were processed for DNA barcoding, analyzed against a barcode library of COI sequences retrieved from GenBank, and validated for COIBar–RFLP analysis. Cases of misdescription were detected: 3 samples labeled as “bianchetto” were substituted by N. tangkahkeii (2 samples) and A. minuta (1 sample); 3 samples labeled as “persico reale” (P. fluviatilis) were substituted by L. niloticus and P. hypophthalmus. All species were simultaneously discriminated through the restriction pattern obtained with MspI enzyme. The results highlighted that the COIBar-RFLP could be an effective tool to authenticate fish in seafood products by responding to the emerging interest in molecular identification technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Food Analytical Methods)

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15 pages, 2719 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Swordfish or Shark Slice? A Rapid Response by COIBar–RFLP

by Venera Ferrito, Alessandra Raffa, Luana Rossitto, Concetta Federico, Salvatore Saccone and Anna Maria Pappalardo

Foods 2019, 8(11), 537; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods8110537 - 1 Nov 2019

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 7609

Abstract

Market transparency is in strong demand by consumers, and the authentication of species is an important step for seafood traceability. In this study, a simple molecular strategy, COIBar–RFLP (cytochrome oxidase I barcode–restriction fragment length polymorphism), is proposed to unveil commercial fraud based on the practice of species substitution in the swordfish trade. In particular, COI barcoding allowed the identification of the species Prionace glauca, Mustelus mustelus, and Oxynotus centrina in slices labeled as Xiphias gladius. Furthermore, the enzymatic digestion of COI amplicons using the MboI restriction endonuclease allowed the simultaneous discrimination of the four species. Interestingly, an intraspecific differential MboI pattern was obtained for the swordfish samples. This pattern was useful to differentiate the two different clades revealed in this species by phylogenetic analyses using several molecular markers. These results indicate the need to strengthen regulations and define molecular tools for combating the occurrence of fraud along the seafood supply chain and show that COIBar–RFLP could become a standardized molecular tool to assess seafood authenticity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Target and Non-Target Approaches for Food Authenticity and Traceability)

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10 pages, 1191 KiB

Open AccessArticle

From Fish Eggs to Fish Name: Caviar Species Discrimination by COIBar-RFLP, an Efficient Molecular Approach to Detect Fraud in the Caviar Trade

by Anna Maria Pappalardo, Agnese Petraccioli, Teresa Capriglione and Venera Ferrito

Molecules 2019, 24(13), 2468; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24132468 - 5 Jul 2019

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 5895

Abstract

The demand for caviar is growing as is its price on the market. Due to the decline of true caviar production from sturgeons, eggs from other fish species and other animals have been used as substitutes for caviar. The labels on these products should indicate the species from which the eggs were derived, but the label can be misleading in some cases. In this context, species identification using DNA analysis is crucial for traceability and authentication of caviar products. In this work, we applied the COIBar-RFLP procedure to obtain species-specific endonuclease restriction patterns useful to discriminate “caviar” species. The tested caviar products were identified as originating from eight species: Acipenser transmontanus, A. gueldenstaedtii, A. stellatus, A. baerii, Mallotus villosus, Huso huso, Cyclopterus lumpus and Eumicrotremus orbis. The results demonstrated that 14% of the caviar products examined have a label that does not indicate the species from which the eggs were originated. The MboI restriction enzyme produced specific profiles discriminating the eight species, confirming that the COIBar-RFLP is a useful approach for routine screening of seafood products due to its ease and rapid execution, as the results of screening can be obtained within 7 h, by-passing the need for sequencing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Analytical Chemistry–Advance Instrumental Methods and Sensors)

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