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Sex Preselection in Mammals by DNA: A Method for Flow Separation of X and Y Spermatozoa in Humans

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Manual on Assisted Reproduction

Abstract

Preselection for sex in man and animals has occupied the imagination of mankind ever since the beginning of modern civilization. Theories abound as to how one can alter the sex of offspring. Early philosophers suggested that various body positions during intercourse could give a child of one sex or the other. Still others suggested that parts of the male genital anatomy produced sperm specific to one sex or the other. In mammals X-chromosome bearing sperm produce female offspring and Y-chromosome bearing sperm produce male offspring always in nearly equal numbers (50:50). In animals, numerous investigations have resulted in a significant body of literature on skewing this ratio. Claims for skewing of the sex ratio are commonplace, yet little if any verification has been offered to support these claims. Many of these protocols attempt to use one or more of the physical sperm measurements (size, shape, swimming speed, surface antigen etc.) as the marker specific for X or Y sperm. A separation technique is then performed based on this “specific marker.” None of the protocols based on these proposed markers of X or Y sperm has been shown to skew the sex ratio to any extent. The reader is guided to reviews which describe many of the “physical separation methods” in more detail than is possible here (Kiddy and Hafs 1971; Amann and Seidel 1982; Gledhill 1988; Johnson 1992, 1994, 1996; Windsor et al. 1995).

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Authors
  1. L. A. Johnson
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  2. G. R. Welch
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, University Women’s Hospital, Voßstrasse 9, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany

    Thomas Rabe (Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c.) & Benno Runnebaum (Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c.) (Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c.) &  (Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c.)

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany

    Klaus Diedrich (Prof. Dr. med.) (Prof. Dr. med.)

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© 1997 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Johnson, L.A., Welch, G.R. (1997). Sex Preselection in Mammals by DNA: A Method for Flow Separation of X and Y Spermatozoa in Humans. In: Rabe, T., Diedrich, K., Runnebaum, B. (eds) Manual on Assisted Reproduction. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-00763-1_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-00763-1_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-00765-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-00763-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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