Use of species-specific PCR for the identification of 10 sea cucumber species

We developed a species-specific PCR method to identify species among dehydrated products of 10 sea cucumber species. Ten reverse species-specific primers designed from the 16S rRNA gene, in combination with one forward universal primer, generated PCR fragments of ca. 270 bp length for each species. The specificity of the PCR assay was tested with DNA of samples of 21 sea cucumber species. Amplification was observed in specific species only. The species-specific PCR method we developed was successfully applied to authenticate species of commercial products of dehydrated sea cucumber, and was proven to be a useful, rapid, and low-cost technique to identify the origin of the sea cucumber product.