High resolution melting analysis as a new approach to discriminate gluten-containing cereals

•High resolution melting analysis to detect wheat and other gluten-containing cereals.•Real-time PCR assay coupled with HRM analysis targeting the Tri a 18 encoding gene.•A quantitative approach was proposed and applied to processed foods.•Wheat detection was down to 20mg/kg in rice flour and 20pg of DNA.•A cost-effective tool for the specific detection of cereals in gluten-free foods. With this work, it is intended to propose a novel approach based on high resolution melting (HRM) analysis to detect wheat and discriminate it from other gluten-containing cereals. The method consisted of a real-time PCR assay targeting the gene encoding for the germ agglutinin isolectin A protein (Tri a 18 allergen), using the fluorescent Evagreen dye combined with HRM analysis. The results enabled wheat differentiation from other phylogenetically related cereals, namely barley, rye and oat with high level of confidence. Additionally, a quantitative real-time PCR approach was proposed, allowing detecting and quantifying wheat down to 20mg/kg in rice flour and 20pg of wheat DNA (∼1.1 DNA copies). Its application was successfully achieved in the analysis of processed foods to verify labelling compliance, being considered as a cost-effective tool for the specific detection of cereals in gluten-free foods.