iXora: exact haplotype inferencing and trait association

BACKGROUND: We address the task of extracting accurate haplotypes from genotype data of individuals of large F(1) populations for mapping studies. While methods for inferring parental haplotype assignments on large F(1) populations exist in theory, these approaches do not work in practice at high levels of accuracy. RESULTS: We have designed iXora (Identifying crossovers and recombining alleles), a robust method for extracting reliable haplotypes of a mapping population, as well as parental haplotypes, that runs in linear time. Each allele in the progeny is assigned not just to a parent, but more precisely to a haplotype inherited from the parent. iXora shows an improvement of at least 15% in accuracy over similar systems in literature. Furthermore, iXora provides an easy-to-use, comprehensive environment for association studies and hypothesis checking in populations of related individuals. CONCLUSIONS: iXora provides detailed resolution in parental inheritance, along with the capability of handling very large populations, which allows for accurate haplotype extraction and trait association. iXora is available for non-commercial use from http://researcher.ibm.com/project/3430.