SEX DETERMINATION ON SAMPLES OF BOVINE MEAT BY POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION

A simple method for determining sex on samples of bovine meat is based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of bovine Y chro mosome-specific sequences using total DNA from meat as template. Under optimized PCR conditions, an amplified DNA fragment, with size betwee n 298 bp and 344 bp markers, was detected only in the presence of male meat DNA as template. The procedure, including DNA extraction, PCR am plification and electrophoretic analysis, required about 5 hr and coul d be carried out starting from fresh or frozen beef. Unambiguous resul ts were obtained in the presence of amounts of template DNA ranging fr om 0.01 to 100 ng. This procedure has potential application in regulat ory analysis to specifically differentiate sex origination of meat sam ples.