Qualitative polymerase chain reaction methods for detecting major food allergens (peanut, soybean, and wheat) by using internal transcribed spacer region.

Allergen detection methods for peanut, soybean, and wheat were developed by designing PCR primer pairs for specific amplification of a fragment of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region reported for Arachis spp. for peanut, Glycine spp. for soybean, and Triticum and Aegilops spp. for wheat. The target species for detection included not only cultivated, but also wild and ancestor species, which were thought to be potentially allergenic. The ability of the resultant primer pairs to detect the target species was verified using genomic DNA extracted from A. hypogaea for peanut and G max for soybean; T. aestivum, T. turgidum, T. durum, T. aestivum-rye amphidiploid, T. monococcum, T. timopheevi, Ae. speltoides, and Ae. squarrosa for wheat. The LODs were 50-500 fg of target DNA, which were comparable to those of the most sensitive PCR methods previously reported. The results from the present work, as well as those from our previous work on buckwheat and kiwifruit, prove that the ITS region, for its high copy number and interspecific diversity, is particularly useful as the target of allergen detection methods.