Sex determination in ostrich (Struthio camelus) using DNA markers

Abstract

Production of bird species such as ostrich (Struthio camelus) has been gaining increasing importance in Iran as well as many other countries. Ostrich, similar to many other species of birds, lacks sexual dimorphism, making it difficult to differentiate between males and females, especially at an early age, which can be problematic in breeding programs. Recently developed molecular genetic methods that utilize polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based techniques can facilitate rapid identification of the bird’s sex in these species using a DNA sample, which can be easily extracted from blood or feather pulps. We successfully applied a PCR-based RFLP technique and sex chromosome primers for sex determination in a sample of 30 Ostrich chicks using DNA extracted from blood and feather pulps. Both DNA samples (blood and feather pulps) provided useful results. However, using feather pulps from 1-day-old chicks can provide an easy and inexpensive method for sex determination in ostrich. Key words: Ostrich (struthio camelus), sex determination, sexual dimorphism, polymerase chain reaction, RFLP