Intron variability in an actin gene can be used to discriminate between chicken and turkey DNA.

A novel one-step method for the differentiation of chicken and turkey DNA is described. The technique uses the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and primers that exploit intron variability in α-cardiac actin to generate single products of a characteristic size for each species. No cross-reactivity with porcine, ovine or bovine DNA templates is apparent and analysis of chicken/turkey admixtures indicates that it is possible to detect 1% turkey in 99% chicken and vice versa. Because the test is based on a nuclear gene target, it forms a valuable complement to other methods based on mitochondrial DNA sequences.