Utility of pooled sequencing for association mapping in non-model organisms

High density genome-wide sequencing increases the likelihood of discovering genes of major effect and genomic structural variation in organisms. While there is an increasing availability of reference genomes across broad taxa, the greatest limitation to whole-genome sequencing of multiple individuals continues to be the costs associated with sequencing. To alleviate excessive costs, pooling multiple individuals with similar phenotypes and sequencing the homogenized DNA (Pool-Seq) can achieve high genome coverage, but at the loss of individual genotypes. Although Pool-Seq has been an effective method for association mapping in model organisms, it has not been frequently utilized in natural populations. To extend bioinformatic tools for rapid implementation of Pool-Seq data in non-model organisms, we developed a pipeline called PoolParty and illustrate its effectiveness in genetic association mapping. Alignment expectations based on five pooled Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) li...