Ultrarapid MC1R protein and associated plumage color evolution in the domestic chicken (opens in new tab)

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 24, June 2026. SignificanceHow new alleles with large phenotypic effects evolve remains a central question in evolutionary biology. Using genome sequence data from more than 10,000 chickens, we show that the pigmentation genemelanocortin-1 receptor(MC1R) has evolved ...