Plant Pan-genomes: A New Frontier in Understanding Genomic Diversity in Plants
Rao Saad Rehman, Syed Ali Zafar, Mujahid Ali, Muhammad Ijaz Ahmad, Asad Nadeem Pasha, Muhammad Waseem, Ameer Hamza Hafeez, Asad Raza
Abstract
The comparison of several associated species and plant genome sequencing efforts has increased in recent years. The inflated level of the genomic variety leads to the discovery that the single reference genomes may not reflect the variability in a species, resulting in the evolution of a pan-genome idea. Pan-genomes exhibit a species' genetic variability and contain mutant genes lacking in some individuals and essential genes present in all individuals. Mutant gene classifications often reveal cross-species parallels, including genes for abiotic and biotic stresses generally concentrated within mutant gene groupings. Here we discuss the history of pan-genomics in plants, investigate the causes of gene variation, deletion, and existence and demonstrate why pan-genomes might assist crop genetics and breeding research.