Molecular Sexing of Nothobranchius furzeri Embryos and Larvae

Abstract

Differences between the sexes are of increasing interest in basic and applied research with regard to development, behavior, aging, and diseases. Although the African turquoise killifish Nothobranchius furzeri, a model for aging research well known for its remarkably short life span, develops strong sexual dimorphism in adulthood, there is no visible indicator of its sex in embryonic and juvenile stages. To address this issue, we developed a molecular sexing assay exploiting two large sequence polymorphisms in the minimal sex-determining region (SDR) of N. furzeri. These polymorphisms are sequence deletions on the Y chromosome that involve the lack or truncation of one or multiple microsatellites. The simple polymerase chain reaction (PCR) readout of the assays described here allows the sexing of N. furzeri embryos and larvae in a medium- to high-throughput and cost-efficient manner.