Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP): An Efficient High-Throughput Genotyping Platform and Its Applications in Crop Variety Development

Modern crop improvement programs are based on molecular breeding, and the main element of molecular breeding is molecular markers. Molecular marker-assisted breeding techniques enable plant breeders to quickly and accurately identify and enhance the traits of interest. KASP, or competitive allele-specific PCR, is the most recent development in the field of molecular markers-aided breeding technology. KASP is a high-throughput, flexible, cost-effective, and intelligent genotyping method. KASP has a vivid use in the field of agriculture, animal sciences, and also human disease diagnosis. Compared to other genotyping techniques, KASP provides accurate and precise outcomes within the short possible time and cost-effective manner. The technology is based on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer and allele-specific oligo extension system; thus, the technology does not require the laborious gel electrophoresis system. Due to these advantages, KASP has drawn much attention from researchers in the field of molecular breeding and crop improvement programs and has already established itself as a global benchmark technology. This chapter describes the concepts, fundamentals, working principles, applications, and prospects of KASP technology, as well as the comparisons with other genotyping platforms currently used in crop improvement programs.