An effective strategy for species identification of avian meats using the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene fragment

Abstract

An effective DNA-based molecular method had been used to identify avian species from meats. The method combined the use of a pair of universal primers, which amplified about 440-bp fragment of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene. A total of 99 meat samples were tested and 17 haplotypes were identified by DNA sequencing, which representing 14 avian species. One avian species was listed as the national first-grade protected animal in China and the IUCN endangered species. Two avian species were under the national second-grade state protection. The proposed method represents a straightforward and robust method for the accurate identification of avian species that could be used by law enforcement agencies as a tool for the control of illegal trade of meat from protected species.

• 12S rRNA gene
• avian meats
• PCR sequencing
• species identification

Declaration of interest

This research was supported by the Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Wetland Bioresources and Environmental Protection (JLCBE12004), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31101684 and 31101747) and the Qing Lan Project of Jiangsu Province. The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.