Pangenome-based association testing between a structural variant located upstream of the KIT gene and head depigmentation across a diverse panel of cattle breeds
Valentin Sorin·A. S. Leonard·M. M. Naji·Mekki Boussaha·G. Tosser-Klopp·M. P. Sanchez·L. Drouilhet·Hubert Pausch
Coat color variation is a key phenotypic trait in domestic animals. Among the genetic factors involved, the KIT gene has frequently been associated with pigmentation diversity across species. In cattle, spotting or piebald phenotypes have been linked to variation in the genomic region encompassing KIT, but the identification of causal variants was not always possible. This is largely due to the regulatory nature of the underlying variants and the structural complexity of this genomic region, whi