4th Edition Of Plant Science and Molecular Biology World Conference 2027

Plant pangenomics is changing the way scientists study genetic diversity in crops, and this session at PMBWC 2027 brings together the latest research in the field. Most genetic studies in plants have been based on a single reference genome. However, one genome cannot represent all the genes present in a species. Different varieties and wild relatives carry extra genes, missing genes and large structural changes, and many of these differences affect yield, quality and disease resistance. A pangenome brings together the genomes of many individuals to show the full set of genes shared by all members of a species as well as the genes found only in some. Recent advances in long-read sequencing have made it possible to assemble complete, high-quality genomes for many crop varieties at a lower cost, and pangenomes are now available for major crops such as rice, wheat, maize, soybean and tomato.

This session focuses on the construction and use of plant pangenomes and graph-based genome references. Topics include structural variation, presence and absence of genes, high-quality genome assemblies and the use of pangenome data in gene discovery and crop breeding.

Key Topics Covered

• Construction of crop and wild-species pangenomes
• Graph-based genome references and variant mapping
• Structural variation and presence/absence variation
• Telomere-to-telomere and long-read genome assemblies
• Pangenome-wide association studies for trait discovery
• Use of pangenome data in crop breeding programmes