Molecular Detection of Chevon and Mutton Adulteration by Species-specific PCR Assay Targeting Mitochondrial COI Gene

A highly species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed for authentic identification of raw and processed meat products of chevon and mutton. To achieve this, four species-specific primers for mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene were selected from previous reports. The assay generated PCR products of 157, 157, 268, 251, and 177 bp for chevon, mutton, pork, chicken and duck, respectively. The sensitivity for the detection of adulteration was established to be 0.1% (w/w), while the DNA limit for detection was as low as 0.001 ng. The adulteration was found in all meat product types including raw frozen meat, cold cuts, ground meats and cooked foods. These findings showed that species-specific PCR are potentially reliable method in detection of meat products of chevon and mutton authentication.