COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF GROWTH, MUSCLE NUTRIENT COMPOSITION, AND SKIN TRANSCRIPTOME IN F1 HYBRIDS OF <italic>CTENOPHARYNGODON IDELLA</italic> WITH TWO DIFFERENT BODY COLORS

To investigate the growth performance, muscle quality, and expression characteristics of body color-related genes in the F1 generation of three grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) families with two different body colors, this study established three F1 families: Ctenopharyngodon idella var. gold (♀) × C. idella var. gold (♂) (GG), C. idella var. gold (♀) × C. idella (♂) (GB), and C. idella (♀) × C. idella (♂) (BB), and systematically evaluated their growth traits, muscle quality, and skin transcriptome profiles through morphometric, nutritional, and RNA-seq analyses. Key findings revealed that: (1) The GG family exhibited significantly higher weight gain rate and specific growth rate compared to the BB and GB families (PBB>GB; (2) Muscle composition analysis revealed significantly higher moisture and lower crude fat content in the GG family (PPcdk4, mt-atp6, csf1r, xdh, and sox9b, were identified. In conclusion, the GG family exhibits superior growth performance and nutritional profile compared to the GB and BB families, and the identification of body color-related genes provides a scientific basis for deciphering the molecular mechanisms and advancing the selective breeding of golden grass carp.