High variability in parvalbumin beta 1 genes offers new molecular options for controlling the mislabeling in commercial Salmonids

Abstract

Fish consumption has many health benefits, but may encompass some risks such as allergic reactions. The main responsible of fish allergy is parvalbumins, being one of the most common parvalbumin beta 1 proteins (Pvalb1) in many fish species. IgE-mediated cross-reactivity may occur between Pvalb1 of different species, and there are also cases of species-specific allergic reactions for only a few fish species. The frequent exchanges Salmo and Oncorhynchus genera found in commercial products demonstrate the great need to continue investigating new tools for the control of mislabeling. In this study, we have amplified by PCR, the parvalbumin beta 1 gene, and analyzed the intron and exon diversity in three genera (Oncorhynchus, Salmo, and Salvelinus), to evaluate the variability of this gene in Salmonids’ group. High variability and occurrence of species-specific SNPs found make this gene suitable as powerful species identification tool. In addition, three putative proteins were inferred from translated DNA sequences, which are worthy to investigate, because of their potentially different effect in the fish allergic reaction of salmonid-sensitive consumers.