Abstract
The commercialization of porgies or seabreams of the family Sparidae has greatly increased in the last decade, and some valuable species have become subject to seafood substitution. DNA regions currently used for fish species identification in fresh and processed products belong to the mitochondrial (mt) genes cytochrome b (Cytb), cytochrome c oxidase I (COI), 16S and 12S. However, these markers amplify for fragments with lower divergence within and between some species, failing to provide informative barcodes. We adopted comparative mitogenomics, through the analysis of complete mtDNA sequences, as a compatible approach toward studying new barcoding markers. The intent is to develop a specific and rapid assay for the identification of the common pandora Pagellus erythrinus, a sparid species frequently subject to fraudulent replacement. The genetic diversity analysis (Hamming distance, p-genetic distance, gene-by-gene sequence variability) between 16 sparid mtDNA genomes highlighted the discriminating potential of a 291 bp NAD2 gene fragment. A pair of species-specific primers were successfully designed and tested by end-point and real-time PCR, achieving amplification only in P. erythrinus among several fish species. The use of the NAD2 barcoding marker provides a rapid presence/absence method for the identification of P. erythrinus.
Highlights
Food frauds are considered a major safety, quality, and economic problem worldwide, with rising awareness and concern in consumers [1,2,3,4,5]
Hamming distance comparison results showed that the genetic dissimilarity among mtDNA of
P. erythrinus and other sparid species varies from a minimum of 10% (Dentex dentex) to a maximum
Summary
Food frauds are considered a major safety, quality, and economic problem worldwide, with rising awareness and concern in consumers [1,2,3,4,5]. In Europe, mislabeling is responsible for 41.8% of food fraud violations and fish products have a central role in this scenario [6]. Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) recently pointed out that there is a common desire from all countries for more technical support regarding food frauds prevention and management [1]. Fish and fish products are the most subject to fraud in the European Union, with intentional mislabeling being the main type of violation [6]. The commercialization of P. erythrinus, deriving from fishing activity between 2006 and 2016, has The common pandora (Pagellus erythrinus Linnaeus, 1758) is one of the most commercially caught Sparidae species in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
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