Analysis of Mechanisms of Gray and White Plumage

Goose feathers have various colors, including black, white, brown, and gray, in addition to stripes and spots of different colors. The Youjiang goose is bred under specific ecological and climatic conditions in Jiangxi Province, China. Under natural classification, there are two colors of plumages in Youjiang goose, white and gray. This study employed GWAS to analyze transcriptional changes of Youjiang goose feathers at white and grey colors to explore the underlying molecular mechanism of feather color synthesis in geese.