Sex identification by polymerase chain reaction using X-Y homologous primer.

A method of sex identification using the polymerase chain reaction technique is described. Using a pair of nucleotide primers from an X-Y homologous region, both the X and the Y sequences can be amplified simultaneously, and more importantly, they result in fragments of different lengths. The success of the procedure is therefore monitored by the presence of a X-specific band while sex is identified by the presence or absence of a Y-specific band.