DUP4 had a more significant effect on the formation of the belt phenotype compared with DUP3. DUP1 (the KIT gene duplication), DUP2 and the splice mutation are all required for the manifestation of a solid white coat color. By investigating the association between these new alleles and coat color phenotypes, we provide further evidence that DUP2 is another causative mutation for the solid white coat color in pigs. The sequence data also enabled us to identify a list of new KIT alleles. We then defined the precise sizes and locations of four duplications (DUP1-4), four candidate causative mutations at the KIT locus, in the pig reference genome using the whole-genome sequence data of representative colored individuals.

In this study, we first conducted a genome-wide association study and RNA sequencing to demonstrate that KIT variants are responsible for diversifying coat color phenotypes segregating in a DLY population. Colored DLY pigs are not favored by slaughterhouses and retailers, thus causing certain economic losses to farmers in China. DLY pigs are usually white but sometimes show colored phenotypes. The Duroc × (Landrace × Large White) hybrid pig (DLY) is the most popular commercial pig used in the Chinese pig industry.

State Key Laboratory of Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China.Zhongping Wu †, Zheng Deng †, Min Huang, Yong Hou, Hui Zhang, Hao Chen and Jun Ren *

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