ABSTRACT
With the advent of high-density genotyping, GWAS have emerged as a powerful alternative approach for identifying QTLs. This mapping method relies on existing linkage disequilibrium between genes coding for a trait and closely linked markers to map these genes at relatively high resolution. Association mapping is usually implemented in existing germplasm collections, unlike traditional QTL mapping that requires development of segregating bi-parental populations. It is therefore possible to exploit existing datasets that are normally obtained in the course of routine germplasm characterization. Moreover, the use of broader genetic variations in GWAS enables a number of alleles and traits to be evaluated simultaneously. For these reasons, association mapping has been hailed as a more efficient way of determining the genetic basis of complex traits.
