Sexing in plants and animals refers to methodological procedures used to determine the phenotypic or genotypic sex of individuals for research, breeding, or management purposes. Approaches range from morphological assessment of sexual dimorphism (e.g., genitalia, secondary sexual characteristics, flower morphology) to cytogenetic and molecular techniques that detect sex chromosomes or sex-linked markers, such as PCR-based assays, karyotyping, or quantitative PCR of sex-specific genes. In early developmental stages or sexually monomorphic species, sexing often relies on invasive or noninvasive sampling (blood, tissue, feathers, leaf tissue) followed by DNA-based tests, which provide high accuracy and are widely used in conservation, livestock production, aquaculture, and plant breeding programs.
Using new genetic markers, fruit breeders can now tell whether grapes will be seedless and self-pollinating even years before vines bear fruit. The approach will save time and resources in the pursuit of creating flavorful ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 8, 2026
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A new study by Harvard biologists reveals how octopuses feel their way to potential mates with a "taste by touch" sensory system and can even couple at arm's length without actually seeing each other. In a study featured ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 2, 2026
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66
Monitoring the populations of one of nature's slower creatures could become faster, thanks to the University of Georgia. UGA researchers have developed an easier, more cost-effective way to learn more about male marine turtles, ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 18, 2026
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Humans like plants. We like seeing them change the color of their leaves throughout the year. They connect us to nature even if we live in a big city. But most people don't think that much about the lives of plants, and least ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 5, 2026
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Researchers have developed a new "color-coded" genetic method that makes it easy to distinguish male and female mosquitoes. This innovation can help solve a major bottleneck in mosquito control strategies that rely on releasing ...
Biotechnology
Dec 17, 2025
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37
Male bonobos can decipher females' unreliable fertility signals, allowing them to focus their efforts on matings with the highest chance of conception, according to a study by Heungjin Ryu at Kyoto University, Japan, and ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 9, 2025
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Paleontologists have long wrestled with the challenge of identifying the genders of dinosaurs from the fossils they leave behind. Once the soft tissues like reproductive organs have decayed away, distinguishing a male from ...
In 2019, a group of researchers in Japan published a study that promised the potential to revolutionize sex selection for scientists, farmers, and potentially even human fertility treatments.
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 16, 2025
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100
Scientists at Virginia Tech may have just made it easier to fight the world's deadliest animal: the mosquito. Only female mosquitoes bite because they need nutrients from blood to develop eggs. That drive makes them dangerous, ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 24, 2025
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74
A lab study on crickets has revealed sex differences in how the insects direct their nutritional resources to increase chances of generating offspring, finding that females prepare for producing eggs while males prioritize ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 24, 2025
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