Table 2.

A partial list of candidate genes in or near the 42 high-confidence selection regions detected in multiple purebred lines of broiler chickens

Gene name	Gene symbol	Function or association
Thyroid hormone receptor beta	cTR	Growth, development and homeostasis
Sex Determining Region Y-Box 6	SOX6	Development of chondrocytes and skeletal muscle
Actin, alpha, cardiac muscle 1	ACTC1	Muscle development
Syntaxin binding protein 6	STXBP6	Bone allocation and fecundity traits
Myosin heavy chain 13	MYH13	Skeletal muscle development
Calpastatin	CAST*	Growth and meat quality

Note: *this gene is located close to a candidate selection region detected in a gene desert area on GGAZ. Information about chromosomal locations of the 42 candidate selection regions and the full list of candidate genes in or near these regions can be found in Additional file 4: Table S4