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Now-a-days processed and canned food products are consumed in increasing quantity in all developing and developed countries following changes in human lifestyle. However, customers are often fooled by products they buy and such frauds frequently go unreported since species identification requires technical inputs and considerable time and efforts. We bought two canned meat packets labelled as ‘classic delicious deer meat’ from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shanghai (People’s Republic of China) to understand its origin as deer meat is legally prohibited in many parts of the world. In this study, we screened these samples with DNA barcoding approach using conserved mitochondrial genes. Homology search on NCBI and phylogenetic analysis identified these samples to have originated from a domestic pig of China. We propose that the methodology used is appropriate for identifying the processed and canned food products and further suggest to check the labelling regulations to guarantee the protection of consumers’ rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bos frontalis is an enigmatic bovine species found in selected regions of Myanmar, Bangladesh, China, Thailand, Bhutan and India. Though there are conflicting hypotheses regarding its origin, the most widely held view is that Bos frontalis originated from direct domestication of Bos gaurus (gaur). To study this, we analysed mtDNA control region and cytochrome b gene sequences of 41 B. frontalis from China and India, together with the available sequences in the public databases. Bayesian inference revealed clustering of B. frontalis and B. gaurus sequences into two separate clades. Application of relaxed molecular clock to these clades shows that B. frontalis and B. gaurus diverge between 0.134 and 0.207 million years ago. This time estimate lies much outside the ~10,000- year-old history of animal domestication. Based on this finding, we argue that B. frontalis should be treated as a separate species/sub-species and not merely a domestic form of B. gaurus. Our study also highlights the gene flow between domestic cattle and B. frontalis population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]