OpiumPlex is a novel microsatellite system for profiling opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.)

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) is a versatile plant exploited by the pharmaceutical and food industries. Unfortunately, it is also infamously known as a source of highly addictive narcotics, primarily heroin. Drug abuse has devastating consequences for users and also has many direct or indirect negative impacts on human society as a whole. Therefore, developing a molecular genetic tool for the individualization of opium poppy, raw opium or heroin samples could help in the fight against the drug trade by retrieving more information about the source of narcotics and linking isolated criminal cases. Bioinformatic analysis provided insight into the distribution, density and other characteristics of roughly 150 thousand microsatellite loci within the poppy genome and indicated underrepresentation of microsatellites with the desired attributes. Despite this fact, 27 polymorphic STR markers, divided into three multiplexed assays, were developed in this work. Internal validation confirmed species-specific amplification, showed that the optimal amount of DNA is within the range of 0.625–1.25 ng per reaction, and indicate relatively well balanced assays according to the metrics used. Moreover, the stutter ratio (mean + 3 SD 2.28–15.59%) and allele-specific stutters were described. The analysis of 187 individual samples led to the identification of 158 alleles in total, with a mean of 5.85 alleles and a range of 3–14 alleles per locus. Most of the alleles (151) were sequenced by the Sanger method, which enabled us to propose standardized nomenclature and create three allelic ladders. The OpiumPlex system discriminates most of the varieties from each other and pharmaceutical varieties from the others (culinary, dual and ornamental).