Turcu, M.-C.; Paștiu, A.I.; Bel, L.-V.; Pusta, D.L. Minimally Invasive Sampling Methods for Molecular Sexing of Wild and Companion Birds. Animals2023, 13, 3417.
Turcu, M.-C.; Paștiu, A.I.; Bel, L.-V.; Pusta, D.L. Minimally Invasive Sampling Methods for Molecular Sexing of Wild and Companion Birds. Animals 2023, 13, 3417.
Turcu, M.-C.; Paștiu, A.I.; Bel, L.-V.; Pusta, D.L. Minimally Invasive Sampling Methods for Molecular Sexing of Wild and Companion Birds. Animals2023, 13, 3417.
Turcu, M.-C.; Paștiu, A.I.; Bel, L.-V.; Pusta, D.L. Minimally Invasive Sampling Methods for Molecular Sexing of Wild and Companion Birds. Animals 2023, 13, 3417.
Abstract
Birds are highly social and need pairing in order to increase their welfare. Most bird species are monomorphic, therefore, molecular sexing helps to provide appropriate welfare for birds. Moreover, early sex determination can be of great value for bird owners. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that sex identification in birds by molecular methods, using samples collected by minimally invasive methods is fast, efficient and accurate. A total of 100 samples (29 paired samples of feathers - oral swab and 14 tripled samples of feathers - oral swab - blood) from 43 birds were taken into study, as follows: wild birds (Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, landfowl – Galliformes, waterfowl– Anseriformes), companion birds (Passeriformes, Psittaciformes – large, medium and small size parrots). Amplification of CHD1-Z and CHD1-W genes was performed by conventional PCR. The results obtained from feathers were compared to those obtained from oral swabs and with those obtained from blood samples, where was the case. The obtained results show that all types of samples can be used for molecular sexing of all studied species of birds. According to our knowledge, the present study reports for the first time the molecular sex identification in: Red Siskin (Carduelis cucullata) and Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis major). For higher accuracy, our recommendation is to use minimally invasive samples (swab-feathers) and to test both types of samples, for each bird, instead of blood samples.
Biology and Life Sciences, Animal Science, Veterinary Science and Zoology
Copyright:
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