Length difference between equine ZFX and ZFY genes and its application for molecular sex determination.
Abstract: we analyzed the sex chromosome-encoding ZFX-ZFY genes and tested molecular sexing using the amplification patterns of intron 9 of ZFX-ZFY in the horse. Results: the amplification of the ZFX-ZFY produced two distinct patterns, reflecting sexual dimorphism based on a length difference between the X and Y chromosomes. The amplification products from foals showed two distinct bands: one was common to all foals and mares, indicating that this band was amplified from ZFX, while the other was specific to some foals, indicating that it was from ZFY. The result based on the PCR assay was identical to the results of amplification of the Y chromosome-specific SRY gene and those of investigations of the phenotypic gender in three different horse populations. Conclusions: we suggest that this PCR strategy for determining sexes by comparing the amplification patterns of ZFX-ZFY genes is a convenient and precise method for discriminating sexes in horses.
Publication Date: 2010-09-01 PubMed ID: 20809415PubMed Central: PMC2997947DOI: 10.1007/s10815-010-9467-7Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article reports a study about how the difference in length between horse genes ZFX and ZFY can be used as a reliable method to determine the sex of horses through molecular testing.
Research Objectives and Methodology
- The main goal of this research was to analyze the sex chromosome-encoding genes ZFX-ZFY in horses and test a molecule-based sex determination method using these genes.
- The researchers conducted a molecular-level investigation, focusing on the amplification patterns of intron 9 of ZFX-ZFY genes in horses.
- They used a type of laboratory test known as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a common method for making many copies of a specific DNA segment, to identify the presence and differences in ZFX-ZFY sequences in different samples.
Findings
- The amplification of ZFX-ZFY genes through PCR resulted in two distinct patterns. This variation is attributed to sexual dimorphism, which is the difference between male and female characteristics, based on gene length differences between chromosomes X and Y.
- Two bands or categories of results were observed in the DNA of new-born foals: one that was common to all foals and mares, and the other specific to some foals.
- The researchers interpreted the band common to all foals and mares as the amplified ZFX gene, while the band specific to some foals was identified as the amplified ZFY gene.
- The research also confirmed their findings by comparing them with the results of the amplification of the Y chromosome-specific SRY gene and phenotypic gender investigations in three different horse populations. They found their results to be consistent.
Conclusion
- Based on their findings, the researchers suggest that this PCR strategy used to determine horse sexes by comparing the amplification patterns of ZFX-ZFY genes can be a convenient and accurate method to identify gender in horses.
- The method’s convenience comes from the simplicity of the PCR process and the ease of identifying the different gene amplification patterns, while its accuracy is confirmed by the agreement of the results with other conventional sex determination methods.
Cite This Article
APA
Han SH, Yang BC, Ko MS, Oh HS, Lee SS.
(2010).
Length difference between equine ZFX and ZFY genes and its application for molecular sex determination.
J Assist Reprod Genet, 27(12), 725-728.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-010-9467-7 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Educational Science Research Institute, Jeju National University, Jeju 690-756, South Korea.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Base Sequence
- Female
- Horses / genetics
- Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors / genetics
- Male
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Phenotype
- Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Sex Determination Analysis
- X Chromosome
- Y Chromosome
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Citations
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