Gender-specific amplification of Japanese macaque genes using primers for the human DYS391 and DYS438 loci

The species specificity of 10 human Y chromosomal short tandem repeat loci, DYS19, DYS385, DYS389, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438 and DYS439, was examined in the Japanese macaque, Macaca fuscata. Primers for loci DYS391 and DYS438 only yielded an amplification product from male samples. The PCR products amplified with the DYS391 primers showed no inter-individual differences in migration rate in electrophoretic experiments. Sequence analysis revealed that these PCR products consisted of 287 bases containing tandem repeats of TC and TATC. The numbers of TC and the TATC repeats varied between individuals. The TC repeat does not exist in human and chimpanzee sequences. The PCR products amplified by the DYS438 primers provided no evidence of inter-individual variation between the six male Japanese macaque samples. In the Japanese macaque, PCR gives a 184 base pair product, in contrast to human sample from which the products are 203-233 bases in size. The primers for four loci, DYS19, DYS385, DYS389 and DYS437 produced PCR products from both male and female Japanese macaques. The primers for the other loci, DYS390, DYS392, DYS393 and DYS439, did not yield PCR products.