Assignment of SNP allelic configuration in polyploids

Estimation of allele copy numbers for molecular markers has long been considered a challenge for polyploid species. Cuenca et al. use Citrus as a model to evaluate the usefulness of the KASPar method, based on competitive allele-specific PCR, for the assignment of SNP allelic configuration. Fifteen SNP markers are successfully designed that produce clear allele signals and that are in agreement with previous genotyping results at the diploid level. The results demonstrate that this genotyping technique is an efficient way to assign heterozygous allelic configurations within polyploid populations in an accurate, simple and cost-effective way. Moreover, it may be useful for quantitative studies, such as relative allele-specific expression analysis and bulk segregant analysis.