Table 3. ITS2 profiles of pearls from Pinctada margaritifera (PMR), P. maxima (PMX) and P. radiata (PR) using a practically non-destructive method (Fig. 2C).
| Pearl label | Pearl weight (carats/mg) | Sample weight (mg) | ITS2 direct PCRa | ITS2 nested PCRa | ITS2-RFLP | PMR, PMX or PR ITS2 nested PCRa |
| PMR7 | 6.7/1335 | 43 | no | no | no | no |
| PMR8 | 7.5/1511 | 45 | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| PMR9 | 7.9/1588 | 60 | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| PMR10 | 12.2/2441 | 61 | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| PMR11 | 11.5/2307 | 59 | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| PMR12 | 9.7/1934 | 59 | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| PMR13 | 10.2/2048 | 74 | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| PMR14 | 6.5/1310 | 75 | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| PMR15 | 15.9/3190 | 50 | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| PMR16 | 12.3/2464 | 39 | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| PMR17 | 6.7/1335 | 71 | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| PMR18 | 7.5/1511 | 100 | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 92% (11/12)b | 92% (11/12) | 92% (11/12) | 92% (11/12) | |||
| PMX7 | 11.6/2320 | 90 | no | no | no | no |
| PMX8 | 15.6/3120 | 50 | no | no | no | yes |
| PMX9 | 6.4/1290 | 20 | no | no | no | yes |
| PMX10 | 7.2/1450 | 60 | no | yes | yes | yes |
| PMX11 | 18.6/3720 | 110 | no | yes | yes | yes |
| PMX12 | 20.2/4030 | 90 | no | no | no | no |
| PMX13 | 12.4/2470 | 100 | no | no | no | no |
| PMX14 | 17.4/3480 | 70 | no | no | no | no |
| PMX15 | 12.0/2400 | 60 | no | no | no | no |
| PMX16 | 12.1/2420 | 100 | no | yes | yes | yes |
| PMX17 | 10.4/2080 | 70 | no | yes | yes | yes |
| PMX18 | 9.3/1860 | 40 | no | yes | yes | yes |
| 0% (0/12)b | 42% (5/12) | 42% (5/12) | 58% (7/12) | |||
| PR7 | 6.9/1380 | 40 | no | yes | yes | yes |
| PR8 | 4.9/970 | 20 | no | yes | yes | yes |
| PR9 | 4.7/940 | 10 | no | yes | yes | yes |
| PR10 | 6.0/1210 | 13 | no | yes | yes | yes |
| PR11 | 6.1/1220 | 40 | no | no | no | yes |
| PR12 | 5.4/1080 | 33 | no | yes | yes | yes |
| PR13 | 6.5/1310 | 40 | no | yes | yes | yes |
| PR14 | 6.2/1240 | 20 | no | no | no | yes |
| PR15 | 7.0/1400 | 20 | no | no | no | yes |
| PR16 | 5.2/1050 | 20 | no | yes | yes | yes |
| PR17 | 4.2/850 | 20 | no | yes | yes | yes |
| PR18 | 5.1/1020 | 20 | no | no | no | no |
| 0% (0/12)b | 67% (8/12) | 67% (8/12) | 92% (11/12) |
a
direct PCR was conducted using ITS2 universal primers (5.8S-F and 28S-R). Nested PCR was conducted with the universal ITS2 primers or primer pair 28S-R and Pinctada-specific forward primers internal to the ITS2 fragment (ITS2-Marg-F, ITS2-Max-F or ITS2-Rad-F).
b
percentage of successfully identified pearls (identified pearls/total pearls tested).