A sexing protocol for wild ruminants based on PCR amplification of amelogenin genes AMELX and AMELY (short communication)

Abstract. Based on the sequences of the bovine amelogenin genes, we have designed a protocol for sexing DNA samples of wild ruminants. Basically the protocol consists on the co-amplification of two specific fragments, one from Y-chromosome and one for the X chromosome, making the use of a PCR control unnecessary. It has been demonstrated to be useful for sex identification in a total of 164 samples belonging to six different wild ruminant species. We propose adding to the census procedure commonly based in faecal groups counting, the faecal sampling and application of the protocol design here, to estimate the sex ratio.