Interlaboratory validation of a real-time PCR detection method for bovine- and ovine-derived material.

In this work we performed interlaboratory validation of a Taqman real-time PCR method for the identification of bovine and ovine material. The Bos taurus beta-actin gene (ACTB) and Ovis aries prolactin receptor gene (PRLR) were selected as the bovine and ovine species-specific amplifying target sequences, and primers and TaqMan probes were designed accordingly. The precision, efficiency, false positive rate, limit of detection (LOD95% ) and probability of detection (POD) were determined, and the results demonstrated that both bovine and ovine detection methods performed well. The high homogeneity of the results indicates that the detection methods are suitable for a wide range of applications, and the tools developed herein could be applied by official and third-party detection institution to maintain quality in the food and feedstuff industries.