Molecular sex determination of 20 bird species protected in the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

Considering that more than 50% of bird species are monomorphic, the identification of gender based on phenotypic characteristics is extremely difficult. The aim of this study is sex determination in species inhabiting the Republic of Serbia, all under the state protection and declared by IUCN as endangered. DNA was isolated from feathers. Sex determination was based on sex-specific CHD gene amplified by 2550F/2718R primer set. Sexing gave good results in all 91 samples from 20 species including 6 species where molecular sexing has not previously been successful.