Genetic screening between Italian and Romanian water buffalo

ABSTRACT The investigation of genetic differentiation of subspecies and breeds is nowadays fundamental for understanding their adaptation to specific environments and for facilitating selection processes for production purposes. These aspects allow us both to safeguard their biodiversity and to protect the products with a high nutritional value that derive from them and to which consumers today pay particular importance. In this study, a genomic approach by RAPD-PCR and DNA-barcoding was used to identify possible genetic markers to discriminate Italian Mediterranean Buffalo (IMB) and Romanian Buffalo (RB). The two molecular tools have been widely used in this study not only to clarify genetic differences between breeds but also to avoid food frauds, given the great importance of Italian buffalo mozzarella recognized all over the world and protected by Denomination of Protected Origin (DPO). The research did not reveal any difference between the two breeds, despite belonging to two geographically different areas.