Association of MC1R genotypes with shank color traits in Korean native chicken

●Korean Native Chicken lines were used to investigate shank color variation.●The shank color in the five KNC lines were quantitatively measured.●Four SNPs in MC1R were genotyped using the Fluidigm Dynamic Array.●Association of two SNPs in MC1R with the b⁎ value of the shank color was detected.

A nation-wide conservation project for the Korean native chicken (KNC) was launched in 1994 and has been conducted primarily by the Korean government. As a result, five lines of KNC have been developed, classified mainly by plumage color. When the lines were developed, charcoal gray and dark green shank colors were selected to distinguish them from broiler breeds, which have yellow shank colors. After more than 20 generations of selection with the criteria, the shank colors in KNC still display large color variations. From an economic viewpoint, shank color is a very important trait because different consumer preferences are prevalent in different areas of Korea. In this study, 596 F1 individuals from five KNC lines were used to investigate shank color variation by using a spectrophotometer. Additionally, four SNPs genotyped from the strong candidate gene for pigmentation, MC1R, were genotyped using the Fluidigm Dynamic Array. The L⁎ (lightness), a⁎ (redness), and b⁎ (yellowness) values showed normal distributions, and the heritabilities of these traits were estimated as 0.5, 0.37, and 0.63, respectively. The results also indicated strong line effects for b⁎, except for the G (gray) and L (black) lines. Two particular SNPs in the MC1R gene, c.212C>T and c.427A>G, were significantly associated with the b⁎ values of the shank colors. The results suggested that the SNP markers in the study could be used for the selection of KNC individuals with desirable shank colors.