Identification of Thunnus Using PCR-RFLP Method with MCE-202 "MultiNA"

Introduction

Consumer concern over food safety has steadily risen in recent years. Responding to this concern, the Japanese Agricultural Standard (Law Concerning Standardization and Proper Labeling of Agricultural and Forestry Products) was revised. The Quality Labeling Standard System was established, requiring the clear and accurate display of food product name, country of origin, etc. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer or the distributor to accurately convey this information as a product selection guideline to consumers. For example, seafood belonging to the tuna species, which is consumed in large quantities by the Japanese, is difficult to distinguish among the various types when presented in the fresh or processed seafood state. Therefore, misidentification, inaccurate labeling and disguise during the distribution process are considered to be social problems, therefore equiring a technique that can quickly, simply and accurately distinguish among product varieties. Here we introduce the procedure for distinguishing the differences among fish stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), southern bluefin tuna (T. maccoyii), α and β bigeye tuna (T. obesus), yellowfin tuna (T. albacares), and albacore tuna (T. alalunga) using the PCR-RFLP (Polymerase Chain Reaction - Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) method as described in the manual produced by the Food and Agricultural Materials Inspection Center and the National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Fisheries Research Agency. The MCE-202 "MultiNA" microchip electrophoresis analyzer was used for detection of the separation patterns of the PCR-RFLP products used for distinguishing the differences between these types of fish stocks.

October 22, 2010 GMT