Multiplex PCR for simultaneous identification of turkey, ostrich, chicken, and duck

To discriminate economically motivated adulteration in poultry meats and products, species-specific oligonucleotide primer sets for multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of four poultry meats were newly designed. Sequences for species-specific primers were generated based on the nucleotide variation in mitochondria cytochrome b gene through sequence comparisons. The sizes of species-specific PCR products for turkey, ostrich, chicken, and duck were 217, 330, 516, and 820 bp, respectively. By adjusting PCR conditions and the concentrations of primers, a simultaneous discrimination of four poultry meats was successfully performed. The limits of detection of both single and multiplex PCR for turkey were 0.05 and 0.005 ng for other species, respectively. The developed multiplex PCR method was successfully applied to identify the target species in 34 of poultry meat products and thus was considered to be a useful tool for monitoring poultry meat products.