Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41202595›Full record

ArticlePoultry science2025

Research note: Pool sequencing nominates MITF as a key candidate gene for white-belted feathers in chickens.

Xunhe Huang, Yiqi Jiang, Ningying Zheng, Huatao Liu, Zhuoxian Weng, Jintian Wen, Jingyi Li, Cheng Ma

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Poultry science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Differential Expression ofAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Xunhe HuangGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation and Precision Utilization of Characteristic Agricultural Resources in Mountainous Areas, Guangdong Innovation Centre for Science and Technology of Wuhua Yellow Chicken, School of Life Sciences, Jiaying University, 514015 Meizhou, China. Electronic address: hxh826@jyu.edu.cn.
Yiqi JiangGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation and Precision Utilization of Characteristic Agricultural Resources in Mountainous Areas, Guangdong Innovation Centre for Science and Technology of Wuhua Yellow Chicken, School of Life Sciences, Jiaying University, 514015 Meizhou, China.
Ningying ZhengGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation and Precision Utilization of Characteristic Agricultural Resources in Mountainous Areas, Guangdong Innovation Centre for Science and Technology of Wuhua Yellow Chicken, School of Life Sciences, Jiaying University, 514015 Meizhou, China.
Huatao LiuGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation and Precision Utilization of Characteristic Agricultural Resources in Mountainous Areas, Guangdong Innovation Centre for Science and Technology of Wuhua Yellow Chicken, School of Life Sciences, Jiaying University, 514015 Meizhou, China.
Zhuoxian WengGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation and Precision Utilization of Characteristic Agricultural Resources in Mountainous Areas, Guangdong Innovation Centre for Science and Technology of Wuhua Yellow Chicken, School of Life Sciences, Jiaying University, 514015 Meizhou, China.
Jintian WenGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation and Precision Utilization of Characteristic Agricultural Resources in Mountainous Areas, Guangdong Innovation Centre for Science and Technology of Wuhua Yellow Chicken, School of Life Sciences, Jiaying University, 514015 Meizhou, China.
Jingyi LiKey Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Technology and College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070 Wuhan, China.
Cheng MaDepartment of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A rare variant of the Wuhua yellow chicken rooster exhibits a distinct plumage phenotype characterized by a white belt across the dorsal region and wing shoulder. This variant provides a valuable model for studying regional pigmentation genetics. Using pool sequencing, we identified candidate genes via high-depth sequencing (average 52 × coverage) of DNA pools from 35 brown-belted and 35 white-belted roosters. Integrated analysis of allele frequency differences, Fisher's exact test, and population differentiation revealed 49 shared candidate genes, with 23 concentrated in a 3.83 Mb region on chromosome 12 (13.12-16.95 Mb). Notably, MITF and two adjacent genes exhibited strong selection signals across all methods. Functional enrichment analyses highlighted significant terms related to melanocyte differentiation and the melanogenesis pathway, with MITF serving as a core regulator. Comparative genomic evidence further supported the conserved role of MITF in pigment deposition across vertebrates. We propose MITF as the primary genetic regulator of the white-belted phenotype, potentially modified by other genes such as PRICKLE2. This study provides insights into the genetic architecture of regional depigmentation and underscores the role of MITF in avian plumage patterning.

Indexed as

Avian ProteinsChickensFeathersMicrophthalmia-Associated Transcription FactorPigmentationAnimalsMalePhenotypeAvian ProteinsMicrophthalmia-Associated Transcription FactorChickenMelanogenesisMITFPool-seqWhite-belted phenotype

Identifiers

PMID41202595
PMCPMC12747192

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.