Molecular sexing of threatened Gyps vultures: an important strategy for conservation breeding and ecological studies.

ABSTRACT: During the last two decades populations of three resident species of Gyps vulture have declined dramatically and are now threatened with extinction in South Asia. Sex identification of vultures is of key importance for the purpose of conservation breeding as it is desirable to have an equal sex ratio in these monogamous species which are housed together in large colony aviaries. Because vultures are monomorphic, with no differences in external morphology or plumage colour between the sexes, other methods are required for sex identification. Molecular methods for sex identification in birds rely on allelic length or nucleotide sequence discrimination of the chromohelicase-DNA binding (CHD) gene located on male and female chromosomes ZZ and ZW, respectively. We characterized the partial sequ

SUBMITTER: Ghorpade PB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3540358 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature