DNA testing of edible crabs from seafood shops on the Odisha coast, India

Seafood consumption is highly demanding due to the important source of protein it contains, as well as being rich in omega-3 fatty acids. However, the adulteration of seafood is an alarming issue worldwide, including India. This study deals with edible crabs from seafood shops on the Odisha state coast in eastern India. The generated DNA barcode sequences successfully identified most of the studied brachyuran crab species by similarity search results in global databases. The species were also delimited by significant genetic divergence and Neighbour-Joining phylogeny. Additionally, the study detected the contamination of unknown organisms in the commercialized crab recipes from seafood shops. The DNA based species detection of brachyuran crab may be useful to resolve many ambiguities in species identification and monitoring of commercialized seafood concerning food safety.