FINDING A SEX-LINKED MARKER IN OSTRICHES USING RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA (RAPD) TECHNIQUES FOR GENDER DETERMINATION

Authors

Chris Shaw, Brigham Young University
Dr. Robert Park, Brigham Young University

Keywords

sex-linked marker, ostriches, random amplified polymorphic DNA, RAPD, gender determination

College

Life Sciences

Department

Plant and Wildlife Sciences

Abstract

In recent years, ostriches have been used more frequently by ranches to fill the market demand for low fat meat, exotic leather and different oils for lubrication. As the numbers of ostriches have increased, the demand for a reliable way to determine the gender of young ostriches has risen as well. The problem with sexing comes from the fact that the cloacas of young ostriches don’t develop until they are nearly six months old. Without the developed cloaca, it is impossible to differentiate the males birds from the females. Often, the birds are sold as breeding pairs when they are three months old, but not knowing the sex of them creates obvious problems. There is another methods for determining sex in ostriches using a technique called micro satellite mapping. This project provided an equally effective alternative to it.

Recommended Citation

Shaw, Chris and Park, Dr. Robert (2013) "FINDING A SEX-LINKED MARKER IN OSTRICHES USING RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA (RAPD) TECHNIQUES FOR GENDER DETERMINATION," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 1534.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/1534