LABORATORY

The molecular sexing method is based on the result of the amplification of a molecular marker located in the sex chromosomes of birds using the technique of the Polymerase Chain Reaction.

Our laboratory technicians identify a birds sex by using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to amplify the chromo-helicase DNA binding protein (Chromo-Helicase DNA binding region, CHD) and subsequently separating the amplified fragments in agarose gels. The CHD region is characterized by being in the sex chromosomes Z (present in males and females) and W (present only in females) of all bird species. This region differs in its size depending on the chromosome in which it is located, so that the males (ZZ, carrying two copies of the Z chromosome) will show a single band on the agarose gels, while the females (ZW, carriers of both copies) of the sex chromosomes Z and W) will be identified by showing two bands. If you want more information about this, you can find it in this blog post.

To contact our team, you can call us on +34 639 856 118 from Monday to Friday (except holidays) between 9am and 2pm to talk to the customer service Alternatively, send us a message from your account or by email to info@sexadodeaves.com. We will answer as soon as possible!

If the sample you have sent us is a feather and you see on your personal page that the analysis is being repeated, it could be due to two main reasons:

1) The technicians have decided to repeat the analyzes and

2) The quantity and/or quality of the extracted DNA was not enough to ensure the amplification of the DNA.

If the sample sent to us is blood and the analysis is being carried out a second or third time, it may be because our technicians want to be sure of the result.

All our diagnoses are collated by two technicians separately; finally, their opinions are contrasted; if there is a discrepancy, in any case, this sample is repeated to dispel doubts.

Before registering your samples, you will have to make sure that the scientific species of your birds are on our list of optimized species. This is essential for the performance of the DNA sexing tests. See the list here.

You do not need an analysis kit.

Thanks to the system proposed by SEXADODEAVES, our customers do not have to wait for a kit to prepare their samples. They can be prepared from home at any time. After purchasing the tests, you can register your shipments online and prepare the samples directly according to the recommendations that you can read in the description of each product.

If the sample that you have sent us is blood, the DNA will be extracted from the interior of the red blood cells that make up the blood sample. If you have sent us feathers, the DNA will be extracted mainly from a small blood clot that remains dry and isolated inside the barrel where the feather´s beard begins (also called "upper navel"). DNA will also be extracted from the epithelial cells that remain in the portion of the feather tube that is inserted into the body of the bird (also called "lower navel"). However, in relative terms, it will be from the upper navel that the higher concentration of DNA will be extracted.