Détermination rapide du sexe chez des embryons de ragondin, Myocastor coypus, dès les premiers stades de gestation

The early knowledge of the sex may be crucial for the understanding of many features of ecological and evolutive biology, including offspring sex-ratio adjustment and evolution of breeding systems. In coypu (Myocastor coypus), significant variation in birth sex-ratios can be observed and selective abortion of entire litters is one of the cited mechanisms. In order to determine the sex of coypu embryos in the earlier stages of gestation (second week), we developed a molecular technique based on PCR amplification of a region of the Sry gene. These method used the combination of two sets of primers: one specific of the Y-chromosome; the other one, autosomal, is a positive control for amplification. Because of the direct amplification of embryo lysate without DNA extraction, the present sexing technique is rapid, relatively simple and inexpensive, and presents numerous advantages for the study at population scale.