When one reference genome is not enough

Much of the research in the field of plant functional genomics to date has relied on approaches based on single reference genomes. But by itself, a single reference genome does not capture the full genetic variability of a species. A pan-genome, the non-redundant union of all the sets of genes found in individuals of a species, is a valuable resource for unlocking natural diversity. However, the computational resources required to produce a large number of high quality genome assemblies has been a limiting factor in creating plant pan-genomes.