SEXING OF CARCASS REMAINS OF THE SIKA-DEER (CERVUS-NIPPON) USING PCR AMPLIFICATION OF THE SRY GENE

In Order to determine the sex of carcass remains of the Sika deer (Cer vus nippon), we improved a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique f or amplification of the Sika deer Sry, a male-specific DNA region on t he mammalian Y chromosome. From the nucleotide sequence of the Sry reg ion obtained here, PCR primers, MT1 and MT2, capable of amplifying a s horter Sry region were newly designed, and a microsatellite locus was used as a positive control. Using these primers, 96 of 109 sex-unknown fawns (88%, 96/109) were successfully sexed (46 males and 50 females) regardless of the conditions of carcasses found in the field. The res ults and the methodology could greatly contribute to the study of the mortality pattern of the Sika deer population.