Gender determination in single bovine blastomeres by polymerase chain reaction amplification of sex-specific polymorphic fragments in the amelogenin gene.
A sensitive technique for the sexing of bovine embryos was developed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the bovine amelogenin (bAML) gene on the X- and Y-chromosomes of Holstein dairy cattle. Cloning and DNA sequencing showed a 45.1% homology between the fifth intron of the bAML-X and bAML-Y gene with multiple deletions. A pair of sex-specific primers was designed to allow amplification of a single fragment of 467-bp from the X-chromosome of female cattle and two fragments of 467-bp and 341-bp from the X- and Y-chromosomes of male cattle. The primers were successfully applied to bovine sexing from single blastomeres isolated from day-6 to day-7 cow embryos by direct cell lysis and PCR. Our protocol of embryo sexing should be applicable to the diagnosis of defective genes in vitro in human embryos and in other domestic or recreational animals.
Chen
C M
CM
Department of Zoology, College of Life Science, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Hu
C L
CL
Wang
C H
CH
Hung
C M
CM
Wu
H K
HK
Choo
K B
KB
Cheng
W T
WT
D053523:Amelogenin; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001757:Blastomeres; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002417:Cattle; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003746:Dental Enamel Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D007438:Introns; D008297:Male; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D019849:Sex Determination Processes; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000235:genetics*; D014998:Y Chromosome / Q000235:genetics*
D053523:Amelogenin; D003746:Dental Enamel Proteins