Microhaplotype markers improve kinship estimation in mixed-ploidy kiwifruit populations

Researchers have posted a preprint to bioRxiv presenting new theoretical and computational approaches for using microhaplotype markers — short multi-SNP haplotypes — to estimate kinship in autopolyploid and mixed-ploidy populations. Although microhaplotypes have attracted increasing attention in polyploid genetics for their improved signals of allelic dosage and heritability, formal methods for kinship estimation from such markers had not previously been developed.

The preprint introduces the MCHap microhaplotype caller, designed for autopolyploid populations, and applies the combined theoretical and software framework to a heterozygous, mixed-ploidy germplasm collection of Actinidia — the genus that includes cultivated kiwifruit. The authors report improvements in kinship inference compared with standard SNP-based approaches, with implications for genomic selection, breeding programme management, and germplasm characterisation in polyploid crop species.

The work is primarily of interest to plant geneticists and crop breeders working with polyploid species, as well as bioinformaticians developing population-genetics tools. The MCHap software may also be useful to researchers in non-plant systems where polyploidy or high heterozygosity present similar analytical challenges. The preprint has not yet undergone peer review.