Chicken plumage color, the genetic basis of which is often affected by epistasis, has long interested scientists. In the current study, a population of complex epistasis was constructed by crossing dominant White Leghorn chickens with recessive white feather chickens. Through a genome-wide association study, we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms and genes significantly associated with white and colored plumage in hens at different developmental stages. Interestingly, white plumage in adulthood was associated with the recessive white feather gene (TYR), whereas white feathers at birth stage were associated with the dominant white feather gene (PMEL), indicating age-related roles for these genes. TYR was shown to exert an epistatic effect on PMEL in adult hens. Additionally, TYR had an epistatic effect on barred plumage, while barred plumage had an epistatic effect on black plumage. TYR had no epistatic effect on the yellow plumage. We confirmed that the barred plumage gene is CDKN2A, as reported in previous studies. Golgb1 and REEP3, which play important roles in the Golgi network and affect the formation of feather pigments, are important candidate genes for yellow plumage. The candidate genes for black plumage are CAMKK1 and IFT22. Further research is warranted to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying these traits.

中文翻译：

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复杂上位性人工种群鸡羽毛颜色的遗传基础

鸡羽毛颜色的遗传基础通常受上位性影响，长期以来一直是科学家们的兴趣所在。在目前的研究中，通过将显性白来航鸡与隐性白羽鸡杂交来构建复杂的上位性种群。通过全基因组关联研究，我们确定了与不同发育阶段母鸡的白色和彩色羽毛显着相关的单核苷酸多态性和基因。有趣的是，成年期的白羽与隐性白羽基因（TYR）相关，而出生阶段的白羽与显性白羽基因（PMEL）相关，表明这些基因的年龄相关作用。TYR被证明对成年母鸡的PMEL。此外，TYR对条纹羽有上位效应，而条纹羽对黑羽有上位效应。TYR对黄色羽毛没有上位效应。我们证实了被禁止的羽毛基因是CDKN2A，正如之前的研究报告的那样。Golgb1和REEP3在高尔基体网络中起重要作用并影响羽毛色素的形成，是黄色羽毛的重要候选基因。黑色羽毛的候选基因是CAMKK1和IFT22。需要进一步的研究来阐明这些特征背后的分子机制。