Nawaz, Ali HassanDing, JiqiangAli, MunwarLeng, DongMukhtar, NasirAli, AhtishamFeng, Chungang2025-11-042025-11-042025-07-05Poult Sci, ISSN: 0032-5791 (Print); 1525-3171 (Online), Elsevier BV, 104(10), 105542-. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2025.1055420032-57911525-3171http://hdl.handle.net/10292/20052Body weight and growth are crucial traits in chickens, regulated by an intricate genetic architecture that remains challenging to understand completely. Multiple quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed numerous genetic variations associated with these economically important traits, but the application of these findings for sustainable and efficient poultry production is limited. This review synthesizes existing knowledge on the genetic regulation of chicken growth, challenging the traditional approach and encouraging the development of integrated strategies to comprehend the regulatory mechanisms underlying complex growth phenotypes. This review highlights recent advances in omics studies (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics), emphasising the utility of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) in addressing cellular heterogeneity within growth-related tissues. The advancement of genome sequencing technologies, combined with progress in CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing, has opened new avenues for the precision breeding of economically important traits in chickens. It also discusses how the newly developed Chicken Genotype-Tissue Expression (ChickenGTEx) project and other related data resources could potentially serve as crucial tools to reveal the regulatory mechanisms related to chicken growth, offering insights into tissue specific gene expression. By elucidating regulatory networks and identifying key knowledge gaps, this review intends to accelerate the development of precision breeding approaches for sustainable and efficient poultry production, ultimately enhancing global food security.© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Poultry Science Association Inc. This article is available under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND license and permits non-commercial use of the work as published, without adaptation or alteration provided the work is fully attributed.Chicken growthChickenGTExGWASGenome editingscRNA-seq30 Agricultural, Veterinary and Food SciencesHuman GenomeGeneticsBiotechnology2.1 Biological and endogenous factors2 Zero Hunger0605 Microbiology0702 Animal Production0908 Food SciencesDairy & Animal Science3003 Animal production3006 Food sciences3009 Veterinary sciencesAnimalsChickensGenomicsQuantitative Trait LociGenome-Wide Association StudyBreedingProteomicsMultiomicsJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.1016/j.psj.2025.105542