A quadruplex PCR (qxPCR) assay for adulteration in dairy products

This study describes the development of a quadruplex quantitative Real Time PCR (qxPCR) based on SYBR®GreenER chemistry, for rapid identification of DNA of cow, goat, sheep and buffalo in dairy products, and for quantification of cow DNA in these products. The platform was applied to: (i) mixes of milks at fixed percentages; (ii) cheeses prepared with the same mixes; (iii) commercial dairy products. The methodology enabled the detection of DNA from cow in mixes of milk and cheeses with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.1%. When applied to commercial dairy products the qxPCR gave results comparable with each single-plex Real Time PCR. A good correlation (R(2)>0.9) between peaks' area of derivative of melting curves of amplicons and percentages of cow milk in milk mixes and cheeses, allows for an estimation of cow DNA in a dynamic range varying from 0.1-5% to 1-25%.