Nuovi marcatori di DNA per identificare la presenza di grano tenero in sfarinati e pasta di grano duro.

Italian pasta must be prepared exclusively with durum wheat and only 3% of soft wheat is allowed to account for cross-contamination that may occur during agricultural processes. Efficient analytical methods for the detection of soft wheat adulteration in durum wheat flour and pasta are already available. An alternative procedure for the rapid discrimination between soft and durum wheat has been developed; it relies on the presence of species-specific length and sequence polymorphisms in the plant b-tubulin gene family.