Journal
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
Volume 8, Issue 8, Pages 902-906Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/2041-210X.12714
Keywords
lizards; molecular sexing; reptiles; sex determination; snakes
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Funding
- Czech Science Foundation [17-22604S, 17-22141Y]
- Charles University [PRIMUS/SCI/46]
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1. While the stability of sex chromosomes is widely accepted in viviparous mammals and birds, ectothermic vertebrates are still largely viewed as having frequent turnovers in sex-determining systems. Frequent changes in sex-determining systems in ectotherms could be problematic for field ecological studies as well as for breeding programs, as molecular sexing across a phylogenetically widespread spectrum of ectothermic vertebrates would not be possible. However, we recently documented that sex-determining systems in three important reptile lineages (caenophidian snakes, iguanas and lacertid lizards) are in fact highly conserved. 2. We applied a new molecular procedure to identify sex within each of these three lineages (encompassing altogether around 4000 species, i.e. nearly 50% of the recent species of reptiles). This technique uses quantitative PCR (qPCR) to compare copy numbers of genes specific for their respective Z (in caenophidian snakes and lacertids) and X (in iguanas) chromosomes between male and female genomes. The DNA samples required can be collected relatively non-invasively. Unlike molecular sexing based on repetitive elements, this technique can be easily applied to previously unstudied species of these lineages, as the number of copies of protein-coding genes linked to thedifferentiated sex chromosomes is evolutionarily highly conserved in each. 3. We suggest that qPCR-based molecular sexing using the comparison of gene copy number is a practical choice for non-model species of caenophidian snakes, iguanas and lacertids. Moreover, it should also soon be available for other reptile lineages with differentiated sex chromosomes.
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