ISSN:
1745-4581
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Objective criteria used to assess the fish freshness in the laboratory are currently inadequate. During contamination of muscle tissue, bacteria reduce trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) to trimethylamine (TMA) in the absence of oxygen. Based on this reaction, we envisaged a new approach and have developed and optimized a PCR method which targets the tor A gene sequence that encodes TMAO reductase. We applied this method to two fish species (Whiting (Merlangus merlangus) and Pouting (Gadus luscus)) during monitoring of spoilage, in parallel with assay of TVBN and enumeration of total aerobic flora. The PCR results tally with the chemical and microbiological findings. Used in quantitative PCR, this method could characterize fish freshness.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-4581.2002.tb00022.x
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