Application of polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and lab‐on‐a‐chip capillary electrophoresis for the specific identification of game and domestic meats

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to adapt and improve previously published polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) methods aimed at the identification of game and domestic meats, by replacing the gel electrophoretic steps for DNA fragment analysis by a chip‐based capillary electrophoresis system. RESULTS: PCR amplification of a mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene fragment and subsequent digestion of the amplicons with either MseI or a combination of MboII, BslI, and ApoI endonucleases generated characteristic PCR‐RFLP profiles that allowed discrimination among ten relevant game and domestic meat species. The Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer utilises capillary electrophoresis on a microchip device that is capable of rapidly sizing DNA fragments, offering a valuable recent development for the analysis of complex DNA banding patterns. CONCLUSION: Results obtained in this work indicated that banding resolution on the system was sensitive, with detection of some small DNA fragments that were not observed with the published conventional PCR‐RFLP gel‐based method. Therefore, the new faster and easy handling procedure provides an additional powerful tool that can be employed for meat speciation. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry