An international research team led by the de.NBI member IPK Leibniz Institute Gatersleben has published a comprehensive pangenome of barley, featuring long-read sequence assemblies of 76 wild and domesticated genomes along with short-read data from 1,315 genotypes. This expanded catalogue highlights structural variants, such as gene copy number variations, which control traits like disease resistance and starch mobilization. Published in "Nature," the study sheds light on barley's evolution and breeding potential, emphasizing how genetic diversity can arise post-domestication to meet agricultural demands. As one of the top global crops, barley's structural diversity is crucial for adapting to harsh environments, offering insights into future crop improvement under changing climates. This project, coordinated by IPK and involving 80 scientists from 12 countries, underlines the institute's leadership in crop genomics. The research also benefited from tools and resources provided by de.NBI - CATS and e!DAL-PGP - enhancing the analysis of complex genomic data.
