Visually identifying the sex of a bird can be difficult. It cannot be done in half the world’s species when they are adults, and virtually none can be sexed as chicks. Despite this, the sex of a bird is vital for captive breeding. An increased number of birds are being sexed using DNA amplification techniques. In this approach, the CHD-W and CHD-Z are distinguished by the amplification of an intron present in both genes. PCR products on the gel electrophoresis vary in size revealing one band in

SRI SULANDARI (Research Center for Biology, The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI))
MOCH SYAMSUL ARIFIN ZEIN (Research Center for Biology, The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI),)

HAYATI Journal of Biosciences
Vol. 19 No. 4 (2012): December 2012

Visually identifying the sex of a bird can be difficult. It cannot be done in half the world’s species when they are adults, and virtually none can be sexed as chicks. Despite this, the sex of a bird is vital for captive breeding. An increased number of birds are being sexed using DNA amplification techniques. In this approach, the CHD-W and CHD-Z are distinguished by the amplification of an intron present in both genes. PCR products on the gel electrophoresis vary in size revealing one band in males at the CHD-Z, and two bands in females corresponding to both the CHD-W and CHD-Z. Two independent sets of primer (P8/P2 and 2550F/2718R) were used to amplify the CHD gene region from both the Z and W chromosome. One hundred and ten (110) birds were sexed using first pair of primers: (P8/P2). Sexing results indicated that 81.8% were successfully determined, 12.7% failed to be amplified and 5.5%  were not perfectly determined because the PCR products showed thick band. The thick band caused misidentified female to male birds. An alternative primer (2550F/2718R) was applied to solve the problem. Two hundreds and twenty-nine birds were sexed and the results showed 100% successfully determined. From this study, it is suggested to use a pair of 2550F and 2718R primers for distinguishing a male from a female bird.