Abstract：This study has established a molecular biological method for the identification of mutton adulterated with duck meat. Based on the target genes, namely the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (cytb) sequences of mutton and duck, we designed one universal forward primer (F) and two specific reverse primers (Rmutton and Rduck) and mixed them in a certain proportion. The target DNA fragments were obtained by one cycle of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. By the sizes of the DNA bands in the agarose gel, we judged whether the mutton was adulterated with duck. Results indicated that duck adulteration in the tested samples could be confirmed by the appearance of specific bands at both 367 and 480 bp. On the other hand, the appearance of specific bands at 367 bp but not at 480 bp could not confirm mutton adulteration with duck. The proposed method in this study was accurate, reliable, simple, quick and useful for meat species screening and the detection and supervision of adulterated meat.
