SEATRACES PUBLICATION
Amaya Velasco, Graciela Ramilo-Fernández and Carmen G. Sotelo
Abstract: Cephalopods are very relevant food resources. The common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) is
highly appreciated by consumers and there is a lack of rapid methods for its authentication in food
products. We introduce a new minor groove binding (MGB) TaqMan real-time PCR (Polymerase Chain
Reaction) method for the authentication of S. officinalis in food products to amplify a 122 base pairs
(bp) fragment of the mitochondrial COI (Cytochrome Oxidase I) region. Reference and commercial
samples of S. offifcinalis showed a threshold cycle (Ct) mean of 14.40, while the rest of the species
examined did not amplify, or showed a significantly different Ct (p < 0.001). The calculated efficiency
of the system was 101%, and the minimum DNA quantity detected was 10−4 ng. No cross-reactivity
was detected with any other species, thus, the designed method differentiates S. officinalis from other
species of the genus Sepia and other cephalopod species and works for fresh, frozen, grilled, cooked
and canned samples of Sepia spp. The method has proved to be reliable and rapid, and it may prove
to be a useful tool for the control of fraud in cuttlefish products.
Journal: Foods