Identification of meat species by PCR-RFLP of the mitochondrial COI gene.

Meat authenticity verification is pertinent for economical, religious or public health concerns. The present study investigates the use of PCR-RFLP of a part of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene for identification of species origin of raw meat samples of cow, chicken, turkey, sheep, pig, buffalo, camel and donkey. PCR yielded a 710-bp fragment in all species.

Optimizing TILLING and Ecotilling techniques for potato (Solanum tuberosum L).

Background: The TILLING and Ecotilling techniques for the discovery of nucleotide polymorphisms were applied to three potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivars treated with gamma irradiation. The three mutant cultivars tested were previously shown to exhibit salinity tolerance, an important trait in countries like Syria where increasing soil salinity is affecting agricultural production.

Findings: Three gene-specific primer pairs were designed from BAC sequence to amplify approximately 1 to 1.