Sexing beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) by means of DNA markers
Few methods are available for determining the sex of free-ranging individual whales, dolphins, and porpoises of species that are not obviously sexually dimorphic. We have developed a technique for sexing beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) by using a Y-chromosome-specific DNA restriction fragment....
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Canadian Science Publishing
1991
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z91-273 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z91-273 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z91-273 2023-12-17T10:28:02+01:00 Sexing beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) by means of DNA markers Brown, Moira W. Helbig, Ree Boag, Peter T. Gaskin, David E. White, Bradley N. 1991 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z91-273 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z91-273 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 69, issue 7, page 1971-1976 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 1991 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z91-273 2023-11-19T13:39:26Z Few methods are available for determining the sex of free-ranging individual whales, dolphins, and porpoises of species that are not obviously sexually dimorphic. We have developed a technique for sexing beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) by using a Y-chromosome-specific DNA restriction fragment. Genomic DNA was extracted from liver samples of 18 beluga whales (9 males, 9 females) sexed at dissection. DNA from males and females was digested with five restriction enzymes, electrophoresed, and transferred to membranes by Southern blotting. When probed with the labelled human Y-chromosome zinc finger protein gene probe pDP1007, male-specific bands and bands common to both sexes, but more intense in females than in males, were observed. The DNA digested with EcoRI provided the clearest sex-discriminating banding pattern. Even when DNA of various qualities digested with EcoRI was used, all the males showed a 3.4-kilobase (kb) band, presumably from the Y-chromosome, as well as a 2.1-kb band. Females showed the 2.1-kb band, but all lacked the 3.4-kb band. This 3.4-kb EcoRI male-specific band permits unambiguous sex determination, which will facilitate examination of sex-related differences in population structure and habitat use of belugas, which have important implications for management decisions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) The ''Y'' ENVELOPE(-112.453,-112.453,57.591,57.591) Canadian Journal of Zoology 69 7 1971 1976 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Brown, Moira W. Helbig, Ree Boag, Peter T. Gaskin, David E. White, Bradley N. Sexing beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) by means of DNA markers |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Few methods are available for determining the sex of free-ranging individual whales, dolphins, and porpoises of species that are not obviously sexually dimorphic. We have developed a technique for sexing beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) by using a Y-chromosome-specific DNA restriction fragment. Genomic DNA was extracted from liver samples of 18 beluga whales (9 males, 9 females) sexed at dissection. DNA from males and females was digested with five restriction enzymes, electrophoresed, and transferred to membranes by Southern blotting. When probed with the labelled human Y-chromosome zinc finger protein gene probe pDP1007, male-specific bands and bands common to both sexes, but more intense in females than in males, were observed. The DNA digested with EcoRI provided the clearest sex-discriminating banding pattern. Even when DNA of various qualities digested with EcoRI was used, all the males showed a 3.4-kilobase (kb) band, presumably from the Y-chromosome, as well as a 2.1-kb band. Females showed the 2.1-kb band, but all lacked the 3.4-kb band. This 3.4-kb EcoRI male-specific band permits unambiguous sex determination, which will facilitate examination of sex-related differences in population structure and habitat use of belugas, which have important implications for management decisions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brown, Moira W. Helbig, Ree Boag, Peter T. Gaskin, David E. White, Bradley N. |
author_facet |
Brown, Moira W. Helbig, Ree Boag, Peter T. Gaskin, David E. White, Bradley N. |
author_sort |
Brown, Moira W. |
title |
Sexing beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) by means of DNA markers |
title_short |
Sexing beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) by means of DNA markers |
title_full |
Sexing beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) by means of DNA markers |
title_fullStr |
Sexing beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) by means of DNA markers |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sexing beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) by means of DNA markers |
title_sort |
sexing beluga whales ( delphinapterus leucas ) by means of dna markers |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1991 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z91-273 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z91-273 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-112.453,-112.453,57.591,57.591) |
geographic |
The ''Y'' |
geographic_facet |
The ''Y'' |
genre |
Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas |
genre_facet |
Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 69, issue 7, page 1971-1976 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z91-273 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
69 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
1971 |
op_container_end_page |
1976 |
_version_ |
1785580053517565952 |