Polymerase chain reaction is an efficient strategy for cattle fetal sex determination using cell free DNA from maternal plasma

2^nd Indo-Global Summit & Expo on Veterinary

October 26-28, 2015 Hyderabad, India

A S da Cruz1, D C Silva1, E O A Costa1, P De M-Jr2, C C da Silva1, D M Silva2 and A D da Cruz1, 3

1Pontif�­cia Universidade Cat�³lica de Goi�¡s, Brazil 2Universidade Federal de Goi�¡s, Brazil 3Secretaria de Estado da Sa�ºde de Goi�¡s, Brazil

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Veterinar Sci Technol

Abstract :

The development of methodological strategies that allow for the prediction of the fetal sex in cattle still remains a zootechnical challenge. Different methods have been implemented to direct the management of animals, giving producers an advantage in decision-making regarding activity planning and financial gains. Fetal nucleated cells reaching maternal peripheral circulation throughout the placental barrier is a well-recognized phenomenon. Thus, pregnant females will have circulating fetal DNA during pregnancy following a temporal relation between gestation and appearance and an increase in the concentration of fetal DNA in maternal plasma. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of polymerase chain reaction analysis (PCR) of fetal cells/DNA in the maternal plasma of pregnant cows to determine the sex of the fetus. Plasma was harvested from 35 cows of mixed genotype at different stages of pregnancy ranging from 5 to 35 weeks. A male calf and a heifer calf provided the control samples. Fetal sex was determined by amplification of Y-specific sequences. For the 35 cows, the fetal sex predicted by this technique was in accordance with the sex of the calf at birth in 88.6% of cases. The agreement between predicted and observed fetal sex was less for cows with a gestational length of 35-48 days (63.6%). Regression analysis showed that there was a strong relationship between the probability of correctly predicting fetal sex and the stage of gestation. It was estimated that the test performed at 43.8 days post fertilization would have 95% accuracy, increasing to 99% accuracy for testing at 48.4 days and 99.9% accuracy for tests at 55.0 days or later. It was concluded that PCR analysis of fetal cells in maternal plasma can be used to predict successfully the sex of the fetus in cattle.

Biography :

Email: acruz@pucgoias.edu.br