Molecular sexing of lake sturgeon

Demographic data including characterizations of population sex and age composition are of fundamental importance for effective management, especially for numerically depressed Great Lakes populations of imperiled species such as lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). The goal of this paper was to extend a recently reported Acipenserid-derived PCR-based genotyping test to determine sex of lake sturgeon. We demonstrate that the recently reported AllWSex2 primers amplified the female sex-specific region in lake sturgeon of known sex, consistent with a ZZ/ZW mode of inheritance. Sanger sequencing of female lake sturgeon PCR products matched published sequences from female sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus), showing 100% query cover and 98% (63/64) identity. The ability to provide a rapid, cost-effective, and unambiguous determination of sex for lake sturgeon will allow managers to determine compositional estimates of sex ratios during any season, and for individuals at any age or size, which is of great utility for species characterized by delayed sexual maturity and lacking external sexual dimorphisms.