Imperial College London
Alternate

DrArkhatAbzhanov

Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park)

Reader in Evolution and Developmental Genetics
 
 
 
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Contact

 

a.abzhanov

 
 
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Location

 

Munro 2.15MunroSilwood Park

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Dobreva:2021:10.1371/journal.pone.0237687,
author = {Dobreva, MP and Lynton-Jenkins, JG and Chaves, JA and Tokita, M and Bonneaud, C and Abzhanov, A},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0237687},
journal = {PLoS One},
pages = {1--13},
title = {Sex identification in embryos and adults of Darwin's finches},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237687},
volume = {16},
year = {2021}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Darwin’s finches are an iconic example of adaptive radiation and evolution under natural selection. Comparative genetic studies using embryos of Darwin’s finches have shed light on the possible evolutionary processes underlying the speciation of this clade. Molecular identification of the sex of embryonic samples is important for such studies, where this information often cannot be inferred otherwise. We tested a fast and simple chicken embryo protocol to extract DNA from Darwin’s finch embryos. In addition, we applied minor modifications to two of the previously reported PCR primer sets for CHD1, a gene used for sexing adult passerine birds. The sex of all 29 tested embryos of six species of Darwin’s finches was determined successfully by PCR, using both primer sets. Next to embryos, hatchlings and fledglings are also impossible to distinguish visually. This extends to juveniles of sexually dimorphic species which are yet to moult in adult-like plumage and beak colouration. Furthermore, four species of Darwin’s finches are monomorphic, males and females looking alike. Therefore, sex assessment in the field can be a source of error, especially with respect to juveniles and mature monomorphic birds outside of the mating season. We caught 567 juveniles and adults belonging to six species of Darwin’s finches and only 44% had unambiguous sex-specific morphology. We sexed 363 birds by PCR: individuals sexed based on marginal sex specific morphological traits; and birds which were impossible to classify in the field. PCR revealed that for birds with marginal sex specific traits, sexing in the field produced a 13% error rate. This demonstrates that PCR based sexing can improve field studies on Darwin’s finches, especially when individuals with unclear sex-related morphology are involved. The protocols used here provide an easy and reliable way to sex Darwin’s finches throughout ontogeny, from embryos to adults.
AU  - Dobreva,MP
AU  - Lynton-Jenkins,JG
AU  - Chaves,JA
AU  - Tokita,M
AU  - Bonneaud,C
AU  - Abzhanov,A
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0237687
EP  - 13
PY  - 2021///
SN  - 1932-6203
SP  - 1
TI  - Sex identification in embryos and adults of Darwin's finches
T2  - PLoS One
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237687
UR  - http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000626604300047&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
UR  - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0237687
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/91869
VL  - 16
ER  -
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