Gene discovery by forward genetic approach in the era of high-throughput sequencing

Abstract

Forward genetic experiments are one of the most common approaches for discovery of a gene function, which involves mutagenesis to screen for a feature of interest, and investigate the causal locus/gene. With advancement in sequencing technologies, the mapping of locus can now be simultaneously done by whole-genome sequencing of mapping populations. The chapter describes the strategy for mapping-by-sequencing and various factors such as effect of sequencing coverage, pool size, etc., that must be considered in performing that. Toward the end, the currently available tools have also been mentioned.