Pangenomics combined with artificial intelligence and precision breeding can accelerate crop improvement

Area of Science:

• Plant genomics
• Bioinformatics
• Crop science

Background:

• Single reference genomes limit understanding of plant genetic diversity.
• Pangenomics captures extensive genomic variations for a comprehensive view.
• Advances in sequencing and computational tools are driving pangenome development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review methodological breakthroughs in plant pangenomics.
• To highlight the applications of pangenomics in crop breeding.
• To discuss current challenges and future directions in the field.

Main Methods:

• Advances in long-read sequencing technologies.
• Development of graph-based pangenome construction tools.
• Integration of artificial intelligence and multiomics approaches.

Main Results:

• Pangenomes are becoming more accurate and prevalent due to methodological advances.
• Pangenomics enables haplotype-based selection and improves genomic selection predictions.
• Applications include marker discovery, genome-editing target identification, and gene-trait association.

Conclusions:

• Pangenomics offers valuable insights for crop improvement and breeding strategies.
• Addressing current challenges will further advance pangenomics applications.
• Future research directions include refining tools and expanding pangenome datasets.