Abstract: Feather color plays a crucial role in a chicken’s appearance, and a thorough understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing feather color formation is essential not only for developing distinct color varieties through breeding but also for identifying and distinguishing local breeds. Chicken feather colors exhibit diversity, with barring being a notable pattern that includes sex-linked barring and autosomal barring. The mechanisms responsible for the formation of these two barring patterns is different. In sex-linked barring, the non-black sections of the barred pattern result from the absence of melanocytes capable of producing melanin. Conversely, in autosomal barring, the non-black portions of the barred pattern arise due to the inhibition of melanin production. The principles governing the formation of light and dark colors in both types of barring are similar, primarily involving the modulation of key genes in the melanin deposition process to achieve varying degrees of pigment deposition. This article offers a comprehensive review of the genetic regulatory mechanisms underlying the formation of barring patterns and color intensity. The goal is to serve as a valuable reference for molecular marker-assisted selection in the breeding of meat and egg chickens based on feather color.

Key words: chicken, barring feather, genetic mechanisms, molecular marker-assisted selection