An intercross population study reveals genes associated with body size and plumage color in ducks.

ABSTRACT: Comparative population genomics offers an opportunity to discover the signatures of artificial selection during animal domestication, however, their function cannot be directly revealed. We discover the selection signatures using genome-wide comparisons among 40 mallards, 36 indigenous-breed ducks, and 30 Pekin ducks. Then, the phenotypes are fine-mapped based on resequencing of 1026 ducks from an F₂ segregating population generated by wild × domestic crosses. Interestingly, the two key economic traits of Pekin duck are associated with two selective sweeps with fixed mutations. A novel intronic insertion most possibly leads to a splicing change in MITF accounted for white duck down feathers. And a putative long-distance regulatory mutation causes continuous expression of the IGF

SUBMITTER: Zhou Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6050300 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature