Comparative population genomics offers an opportunity to discover the signatures of artificial selection during animal domestication, however, their function cannot be directly revealed. We discover the selection signatures using genome-wide comparisons among 40 mallards, 36 indigenous-breed ducks, and 30 Pekin ducks. Then, the phenotypes are fine-mapped based on resequencing of 1026 ducks from an F2 segregating population generated by wild × domestic crosses. Interestingly, the two key economic traits of Pekin duck are associated with two selective sweeps with fixed mutations. A novel intronic insertion most possibly leads to a splicing change in MITF accounted for white duck down feathers. And a putative long-distance regulatory mutation causes continuous expression of the IGF2BP1 gene after birth which increases body size by 15% and feed efficiency by 6%. This study provides new insights into genotype–phenotype associations in animal research and constitutes a promising resource on economically important genes in fowl.

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Antifouling coatings are often required to have both excellent fouling resistance and mechanical properties for their applications. This study reports a water‐borne antifouling coating consisting of an amine‐terminated hyperbranched polysiloxane and a fouling resistant epoxy‐zirconium particle, where the former is prepared using amine‐functionalized silanes, and the latter is prepared via the reaction of zirconium alkoxide with epoxy‐functionalized silanes and zwitterionic silanes. Such a hybrid coating is transparent (>99.5% transmittance) and exhibits a combination of polymeric and ceramic characteristics, namely, it has not only high hardness (7–9 H) and adhesion (≈3 MPa) to substrates but also good flexibility (≤10 mm bending diameter). The presence of the zwitterionic group allows the coating to have excellent oil repellency and fouling resistance. The effects of composition and structure on the mechanical properties and antifouling performance are investigated. This study aims to develop antifouling coatings to be used in foldable displays, optical sensors, and biomedical facilities.

How animals, particularly livestock, adapt to various climates and environments over short evolutionary time is of fundamental biological interest. Further, understanding the genetic mechanisms of adaptation in indigenous livestock populations is important for designing appropriate breeding programs to cope with the impacts of changing climate. Here we conducted a comprehensive genomic analysis of diversity, interspecies introgression and climate-mediated selective signatures in a global sample of sheep and their wild relatives. By examining 600k and 50k genome-wide SNP data from 3447 samples representing 111 domestic sheep populations and 403 samples from all their seven wild relatives (argali, Asiatic mouflon, European mouflon, urial, snow sheep, bighorn and thinhorn sheep), coupled with 88 whole-genome sequences, we detected clear signals of common introgression from wild relatives into sympatric domestic populations, thereby increasing their genomic diversities. The introgressions provided beneficial genetic variants in native populations, which were significantly associated with local climatic adaptation. We observed common introgression signals of alleles in olfactory-related genes (e.g., ADCY3 and TRPV1) and the PADI gene family including in particular PADI2, which is associated with antibacterial innate immunity. Further analyses of whole-genome sequences showed that the introgressed alleles in a specific region of PADI2 (chr2: 248302667-248306614) correlate with resistance to pneumonia. We conclude that wild introgression enhanced climatic adaptation and resistance to pneumonia in sheep. This has enabled them to adapt to varying climatic and environmental conditions after domestication.

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