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Assigning sex to individuals without previous information is a common objective of molecular ecology. Here, we developed a framework for sexing animals by using two indexes based on the different properties of the mammalian sexual chromosomes. We mapped RAD-seq loci to a reference genome to obtain missingness and coverage depth from chromosomes Y, X and autosomal, which allowed identifying the sex of fur seals from a previous study with previous sex information. Moreover, we sexed 38 sea lions sampled non-invasively, allowing us to discuss our indexes’ reliability at different coverage depths. We believe this approach could extrapolate to any mammal species or taxa with known XY sex chromosome systems and different qualities of the GBS sequencing.Author summaryWhen we start a new behavioral study, one of the arising questions is whether males and females have the same behavior facing different situations. However, it is not always easy to identify the sex of an animal. Some species do not present differences at a glance between sexes, and at other times, differences appear at completing sex maturity, which complicates knowing their sex. But, a more challenging scenario appears, for example, at working with complex animals to catch or even see, where we have to settle with their feathers, hairs or excrement. For that reason, the possibility of identifying the sex of several individuals using genetics has become of great interest. In this work, we developed a computational methodology for sexing animals genetically using the biological differences of sex chromosomes. |
