A Reference-Free K-mer Framework Enhances Genomic Prediction in Highly Heterozygous Woody Species: A Case Study in Litsea cubeba
The results indicated that the K-mer strategy not only recapitulated most SNP-associated signals but also uniquely captured a novel locus associated with the fruit shape index and provided a conceptual and methodological framework for GS-assisted molecular breeding in highly heterozygous woody species.