This paper (purchase required, USD$31.50) investigates trnL (p6-loop) metabarcoding to verify the origin of honey by its floral signature. It is a proof of concept based on analysis of 20 Turkish honey encompassing blossom and honeydew honeys purchased from local markets in a variety of local regions.
In particular, the researchers investigated the advantages of pooling samples for such “floral fingerprinting”. They report that pooling of samples increased diversity recovery (higher richness and Shannon index) and improved the detection of both dominant and rare taxa that can be underrepresented in single samples. The individually sequenced blossom honey confirmed key label taxa, while the pool provided a landscape-level botanical profile consistent with declared compositions across products.
