Proceedings of the XLVI Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics - SIGA Annual Congress

Giardini Naxos, Italy - 18/21 September, 2002

ISBN 88-900622-3-1

Poster Abstract - 2.15

REAL TIME PCR FOR TRITICEAE SPECIES SPECIFIC DETECTION

TERZI V., TUDISCO R., RUSSO G., BARAVELLI M., REGGIANI F., FACCIOLI P.

Istituto Sperimentale per la Cerealicoltura, Via San Protaso 302, I-29017 Fiorenzuola d’Arda (PC), Italy

bread wheat, durum wheat, rye, real time PCR

The cereal composition of specific foods is always a key factor for the quality and the safety of the final product. This work has been directed toward the development of analytical systems for the qualitative and quantitative detection of specific cereals in food. More in details, the first aim of the work has been the development of analytical tools based on end-point and real-time PCR to detect the presence of Triticum species in flour and pasta. Moreover, qualitative and quantitative PCR-based methods are proposed to detect hexaploid wheat adulteration in pasta. In the first step of the work useful sequences for the detection of Triticum species has been selected. As a second step these sequences have been used to design specific primers and probes to be applied both for end-point and real-time PCR. As results, two TaqMan assays have been developed: one for Triticum genus traceability and the other for detection and quantitation of Triticum aestivum in mixtures.

Because it is relevant to add new methods for control of some special food, like those for coeliac consumers, we have screened rye EST and identified a sequence on which we have build a TaqMan assay for rye and triticale traceability. The specificity of the assay has been tested on a panel of rye and triticale cultivars.

Overall, our results demonstrate that is possible to build analytical tool for food control based on DNA profiling through a real time approach. Perspectives of these works are related to the validation of the assays through ring tests organization.