Closed-tube visual detection of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) using self-quenched primer coupled with a designed...

Species adulteration has been widely revealed around the world, and the possible reasons include declining stocks in most source areas of the world, poor transparency in the global supply chain, and difficulty in distinguishing the features of processed products. The present work selected Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) as a case study, and developed a novel loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for Atlantic cod authentication, where a self-quenched primer and a newly designed reaction vessel were used to realize the endpoint visual detection of the target-specific products.

A novel LAMP primer set was designed for Atlantic cod, and the inner primer BIP was selected to label the self-quenched fluorogenic element. The fluorophore's dequenching only occurred along with LAMP elongation for the target species. No fluorescence could be observed with both single-stranded DNA and partially complementary dsDNA of the non-target species. With the novel reaction vessel, both amplification as well as detection were operated in an enclosed device, and visual differentiation of Atlantic cod, negative control, and false positive generated from primer dimers was achieved. The novel assay has proved its specificity and applicability, and could detect as little as 1 pg of Atlantic cod DNA. Moreover, Atlantic cod adulteration as low as 10% could be detected in haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), and no cross-reactivity was observed.

The established assay could be a useful tool to detect mislabeling incidents involving Atlantic cod considering the advantages of speed, simplicity and accuracy. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.