Funong Luo, Shujun Chen, Hojjat Nanaei, Xinyu Wang, Rasmus Heller, Dexiang Hu, Hong Cheng, Jie Li, Shiheng Ni, Mao Li, Xuelei Dai, Yu Jiang. 2025. The genetic basis and origin of coat color in Leiqiong cattle. Zoological Research. DOI: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2024.442
Citation: Funong Luo, Shujun Chen, Hojjat Nanaei, Xinyu Wang, Rasmus Heller, Dexiang Hu, Hong Cheng, Jie Li, Shiheng Ni, Mao Li, Xuelei Dai, Yu Jiang. 2025. The genetic basis and origin of coat color in Leiqiong cattle. Zoological Research. DOI: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2024.442

The genetic basis and origin of coat color in Leiqiong cattle

  • Coat color variation in domestic animals provides a valuable model for studying species adaptation, domestication processes, and genetic diversity. Leiqiong cattle, representing southern Chinese indicine cattle, predominantly exhibit yellow coats, with some individuals displaying solid black coats. To uncover the genetic basis of this color variation, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 212 Leiqiong bulls. We identified a significantly strong genomic signal on chromosome 6, located within the fifth intron of the CORIN gene, providing the first evidence of CORIN influencing coat color variation in cattle. Through integration of our data with publicly available datasets and haplotype analyses, we found that the yellow coat color traces back to Indian indicine ancestry, while the black coat color resulted from both introgression of wild bovine species and artificial hybridization with Wagyu cattle. Additionally, by comparing Indian indicine cattle with different coat colors, we observed distinct LEF1 haplotypes despite their shared CORIN background, revealing an ancient and complex domestication history underlying coat color variation. Our findings provide direct evidence that introgression has shaped phenotypic traits in East Asian cattle, deepening our understanding of coat color variation and guiding future breeding strategies.
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