Extrction of Maternal and Embryonic DNA from the Egg and Its Application in Microsatellite Genotyping

Studies in molecular genetics are having a great influence on our knowledge regarding the genetic analysis of the populations، phylogenetic relationships، and evolution and ecology of organisms. The use of the egg as a source of genetic material is a non-invasive sampling method that is applicable in a wide range of oviparous species. The aim of this study was to present an efficient method for extracting maternal (from egg shell) and offspring (from blastoderm) DNA from a single egg. One hundred and fifty specimens from Leghorn population (including 70 eggshells، 70 blastoderms، and 10 blood samples) were analyzed. The success of the DNA extraction was investigated using the LEI0258 microsatellite marker. This microsatellite is used for MHC genotyping. Furthermore، maternal and egg shell DNA correspondence was investigated by comparing the genotypes obtained from eggshells and blood samples. Offspring and maternal DNA was successfully extracted from all blastoderms and 78% of eggshells، respectively. We were able to obtain both offspring and maternal DNA from a single egg until 3 days of incubation but after that، the embryo’s DNA contaminated the maternal DNA present in the shell. Our results showed that the single-egg method could be successfully used for maternal and offspring DNA extraction in chicken.