GWAS and candidate gene screening
Genomic DNA samples from 33 Bama pigs of the G1-016105 strain (including G1-016105, three wild-type sows, and their 29 littermates) were genotyped using porcine SNP60 BeadChips (Illumina Inc., USA). A family-based genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) detected the SNP loci exhibiting a significant correlation with piebaldism using PLINK software. Parametric linkage analysis was performed using Merlin software based on an autosomal-dominant model, and the LOD score was calculated as the evidence for linkage. The whole coding sequence of the candidate gene c-KIT was amplified and sequenced to identify the causative mutation. All primers are listed in Table S2.