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Identification of European commercial cockles (Cerastoderma edule and C. glaucum) by species-specific PCR amplification of the ribosomal DNA ITS region

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Abstract

We present a novel one-step PCR method for the identification of Cerastoderma edule and C. glaucum. Sequence differences found in the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of the ribosomal DNA of the two cockles allowed us to design two species-specific reverse primers. These two primers were used in a multiplex reaction, together with a forward universal primer to amplify specific fragments with different lengths in each cockle (190 and 470 bp in C. edule and C. glaucum, respectively). The successful and specific amplifications obtained for two natural populations in each species as well as in canned products lend support to the usefulness of these markers.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Philippe Borsa, Dr. Maciej Wolowicz and Ms. Isabel Pan Souto for supplying samples and Jose García Gil for the technical assistance in the laboratory. This work was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología and Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia of Spain and Xunta de Galicia through projects IFD97-1295, RZ2006-00005-00-00 and XUGA 10300B97, respectively.

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  1. Departamento de Biología Celular y Molecular, Universidade da Coruña, A Zapateira s/n, 15071, A Coruña, Spain

    Ruth Freire, Alberto Arias, Josefina Méndez & Ana Insua

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  1. Ruth Freire
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  2. Alberto Arias
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  3. Josefina Méndez
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  4. Ana Insua
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Correspondence to Ruth Freire.

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Freire, R., Arias, A., Méndez, J. et al. Identification of European commercial cockles (Cerastoderma edule and C. glaucum) by species-specific PCR amplification of the ribosomal DNA ITS region. Eur Food Res Technol 232, 83–86 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-010-1369-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-010-1369-5

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