Tanja Cafuk: Mediterranean monk
seal (Monachus monachus)
gender determination by polymerase chain reaction. Original scientific student paper. Faculty of
Abstract
The Mediterranean monk seal
(Monachus monachus) is
the only seal species that inhabits Mediterranean Sea and one of the most
endangered animal species of the world. Once found throughout Croatian part of
the Adriatic Sea, the Mediterranean monk seal is considered extinct since
1992., although some individuals from the neighboring populations enter the
Adriatic Sea and stay there temporarily. Understanding the population structure
of the species has got a great significance in preserving the population of a certain
habitat, so every gained information considering highly endangered
Mediterranean monk seal contributes to better understanding of the species
biology. In this study polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been used for
identify sex from the bone tissue samples. Genome DNA has been extracted from 2
museum monk seal skull and one from finger falange.
For compare, DNA has been extracted from 6 other mammals, known sex. With the
four oligonucleotide primers, used in the PCR,
different length fragments (445 bp and 224 bp) have been
obtained. Primers were used to simultaneously amplify a part of the sry gene located on the Y chromosome wich
exists only in males, and control regions of ZFX/ZFY, which exists in males and
females. The sex of 2 units has been successfully determined, while
determination sex of one sample has been unsuccessful.