Abstract
China is home to a rich diversity of goose genetic resources, with more than 30 distinct breeds. These breeds are widely distributed in various environments with high annual mean temperature differences ranging from about 3.5 °C to 23 °C and annual precipitation differences ranging from about 230 mm to 2200 mm, positioning them as excellent models for studying environmental adaptability. With three genetic-environment association methods, the LFMM, Samβada, and RDA analysis, a total of 447 genes were selected by at least two methods. These genes are significantly enriched in three pathways, including the polycomb repressive complex pathway, the alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism pathway, and the GnRH signalling pathway. The scanning of all candidate single-nucleotide polymorphism variations found that only two variants located in a non-coding region (chr3:38968547, chr13:23863699) showed stronger positive selection in breeds living in a high-temperature environment. This research not only deepens our understanding of the genetic basis of goose adaptation to diverse environments but also provides a valuable resource for future selective breeding programs in the goose industry facing rapid global climate change.