Sex Determination in Ostrich (Struthio camelus) Using PCR Technique

The important of ostrich breeding have been increased in the Iran as other country around the world. Lack of sexual dimorphism in many species of birds including Ostrich (Struthio camelus), making it difficult to differentiate between males and females, especially in young birds. This can be problematic for breeding programs. Blood samples from randomly chicks in the first days were collected and then DNA was extracted from blood. For sex typing used PCR by OSFES primer that produced a 423 fragment. Our results shown that sex determination using PCR method for chicks in the first days is useful, easy and inexpensive.