Abstract: Wool and cashmere are important textile materials in China. Subjected to the limitation of identification methodology, adulteration and false declaration of wool and cashmere products are common on the market. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop a quick, objective, reliable and accurate identification method. In this paper, DNA extraction protocol of wool and cashmere products was developed, common primers and species-specific probes for real-time PCR were designed from mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA sequences, and the method specificity, detection limit and sample analysis were conducted in order to assess the sensitivity, stability and specificity of the established method. Sensitivity experiment showed that wool and cashmere can be distinguished from other textile products using the species-specific probes. Sensitivity experiment also demonstrated that the detection limit of the established method is 10ng DNA (carrier DNA contained), and the analysis of sixteen textile sample revealed that the established method is consistent with traditional identification method and much more sensitive than traditional method, proving the feasibility of using the established method in the routine inspection work.

Key words: wool, cashmere, PCR identification, DNA extraction protocol