Towards a Universal Molecular Approach for the Quality Control of New Foodstuffs

Galimberti, Andrea; Sandionigi, Anna; Bruno, Antonia; Bruni, Ilaria; Barbuto, Michela; Galimberti, Andrea; Labra, Massimo

doi:10.1002/9781118864463.ch04

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 207 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Peptide fingerprinting is an interesting alternative to DNA barcoding to identify taxa, and has many applications, from archaeology to wildlife forensics [ 61 ]. There is a wide range of keratinous tissues (hair, horn, feathers, tortoiseshell) and organisms on which the methodology can be applied to provide a fast and easy taxonomic identification that will complement or offer a substitute technique when degradation prevents identification by microscopy or DNA.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To address problems of species identification of unidentified museum specimens (resulting for example from outdated, inaccurate, absent or erroneous curatorial records), DNA barcoding was developed as a taxonomic tool. This method uses one or multiple short genetic sequences to identify a specimen or part of an animal and if possible connect it to a reference species, and has been used to describe new taxa [ 58 – 61 ]. However concerns have been raised about the accuracy of this method of analysis, such as species delimitation and availability of controlled reference specimens [ 61 – 64 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This method uses one or multiple short genetic sequences to identify a specimen or part of an animal and if possible connect it to a reference species, and has been used to describe new taxa [ 58 – 61 ]. However concerns have been raised about the accuracy of this method of analysis, such as species delimitation and availability of controlled reference specimens [ 61 – 64 ]. The idea that DNA barcoding can be used to describe new organisms and assess biodiversity based on a single locus has been criticized [ 65 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Molecular markers in keratins from Mysticeti whales for species identification of baleen in museum and archaeological collections

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Baleen has been harvested by indigenous people for thousands of years, as well as collected by whalers as an additional product of commercial whaling in modern times. Baleen refers to the food-filtering system of Mysticeti whales; a full baleen rack consists of dozens of plates of a tough and flexible keratinous material that terminate in bristles. Due to its properties, baleen was a valuable raw material used in a wide range of artefacts, from implements to clothing. Baleen is not widely used today, however, analyses of this biomolecular tissue have the potential to contribute to conservation efforts, studies of genetic diversity and a better understanding of the exploitation and use of Mysticeti whales in past and recent times. Fortunately, baleen is present in abundance in museum natural history collections. However, it is often difficult or impossible to make a species identification of manufactured or old baleen. Here, we propose a new tool for biomolecular identification of baleen based on its main structural component alpha-keratin (the same protein that makes up hair and fingernails). With the exception of minke whales, alpha-keratin sequences are not yet known for baleen whales. We therefore used peptide mass fingerprinting to determine peptidic profiles in well documented baleen and evaluated the possibility of using this technique to differentiate species in baleen samples that are not adequately identified or are unidentified. We examined baleen from ten different species of whales and determined molecular markers for each species, including species-specific markers. In the case of the Bryde’s whales, differences between specimens suggest distinct species or sub-species, consistent with the complex phylogeny of the species. Finally, the methodology was applied to 29 fragments of baleen excavated from archaeological sites in Labrador, Canada (representing 1500 years of whale use by prehistoric people), demonstrating a dominance of bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) in the archaeological assemblage and the successful application of the peptide mass fingerprinting technique to identify the species of whale in unidentified and partially degraded samples.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Molecular markers in keratins from Mysticeti whales for species identification of baleen in museum and archaeological collections

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…4420. Although the molecular approach is well supported and validated in the case of the identification of a single biological raw material [7,8,9,10], other issues arise when dealing with treated or adulterated foods. In fact, highly processed products are one of the challenges of food traceability because DNA could undergo degradation processes due to the intense physico-chemical conditions of industrial treatments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Tracking Perspective: DNA Metabarcoding to Identify Plant Composition in Complex and Processed Food Products

Bruno

Sandionigi

Agostinetto

et al. 2019

Genes

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

One of the main goals of the quality control evaluation is to identify contaminants in raw material, or contamination after a food is processed and before it is placed on the market. During the treatment processes, contamination, both accidental and economically motivated, can generate incongruence between declared and real composition. In our study, we evaluated if DNA metabarcoding is a suitable tool for unveiling the composition of processed food, when it contains small trace amounts. We tested this method on different types of commercial plant products by using tnrL marker and we applied amplicon-based high-throughput sequencing techniques to identify plant components in different food products. Our results showed that DNA metabarcoding can be an effective approach for food traceability in different type of processed food. Indeed, the vast majority of our samples, we identified the species composition as the labels reported. Although some critical issues still exist, mostly deriving from the starting composition (i.e., variable complexity in taxa composition) of the sample itself and the different processing level (i.e., high or low DNA degradation), our data confirmed the potential of the DNA metabarcoding approach also in quantitative analyses for food composition quality control.

show abstract

Poisonous or non-poisonous plants? DNA-based tools and applications for accurate identification

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plant exposures are among the most frequently reported cases to poison control centres worldwide. This is a growing condition due to recent societal trends oriented towards the consumption of wild plants as food, cosmetics, or medicine. At least three general causes of plant poisoning can be identified: plant misidentification, introduction of new plant-based supplements and medicines with no controls about their safety, and the lack of regulation for the trading of herbal and phytochemical products. Moreover, an efficient screening for the occurrence of plants poisonous to humans is also desirable at the different stages of the food supply chain: from the raw material to the final transformed product. A rapid diagnosis of intoxication cases is necessary in order to provide the most reliable treatment. However, a precise taxonomic characterization of the ingested species is often challenging. In this review, we provide an overview of the emerging DNA-based tools and technologies to address the issue of poisonous plant identification. Specifically, classic DNA barcoding and its applications using High Resolution Melting (Bar-HRM) ensure high universality and rapid response respectively, whereas High Throughput Sequencing techniques (HTS) provide a complete characterization of plant residues in complex matrices. The pros and cons of each approach have been evaluated with the final aim of proposing a general user's guide to molecular identification directed to different stakeholder categories interested in the diagnostics of poisonous plants.

show abstract

Towards a Universal Molecular Approach for the Quality Control of New Foodstuffs

Cited by 3 publications

References 207 publications

Molecular markers in keratins from Mysticeti whales for species identification of baleen in museum and archaeological collections

Molecular markers in keratins from Mysticeti whales for species identification of baleen in museum and archaeological collections

Food Tracking Perspective: DNA Metabarcoding to Identify Plant Composition in Complex and Processed Food Products

Poisonous or non-poisonous plants? DNA-based tools and applications for accurate identification

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About