fish species (2)

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Skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) is the most commercialised species of tuna in canned tuna. Chinese scientist have developed a novel loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay targeting the cytochrome b gene for rapid screening of skipjack tuna. LAMP primers were designed so that they were specific for skipjack tuna, and the specificity was confirmed against 22 other fish species. The LAMP assay could detect as low as 50 pg skipjack tuna DNA, by both colorimetric and real time fluorescent determination. The LAMP assay was tested on 39 canned tuna products, and only 4 samples contained skipjack tuna. The LAMP results were also confirmed by DNA sequencing, hence the novel LAMP method can be used for rapid screening of skipjack tuna in canned  fish products. 

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5164616286?profile=RESIZE_400xFish species substitution and/or mislabelling is known to be a serious global issue. Spanish researchers used DNA barcoding to identify fish species in 313 samples collected in 204 mass catering outlets from 15 Spanish Autonomous Communities. The results showed that 50% of the food catering establishments sold mislabelled seafood. The fish species found to be most substituted were dusky grouper (shown left and known as Mero in Spanish) and tope shark, which were substituted by similar species of fish from Asian, South American and South African regions.

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