The James Hutton Institute joins international network to advance the future of crop genetics
The James Hutton Institute is delighted to be part of the recently launched International Plant Pangenome Network (IPPGN), a collaborative initiative bringing together scientists, researchers, industry partners and technology developers to advance the rapidly growing field of plant pangenomics.
Plant pangenomics studies the complete genetic diversity within a species, capturing both the genes shared by all individuals and the genetic variations that make each plant unique. As advances in genome sequencing and computing power make it possible to analyse genetic diversity on an unprecedented scale, plant pangenomics is opening up new opportunities to understand the traits that underpin crop performance, resilience and productivity.
The ability to identify valuable genetic variation across crop species is becoming increasingly important as agriculture faces the challenges of climate change, evolving pests and diseases and the need to produce more food sustainably. By revealing the full range of genetic diversity available within crop species, plant pangenomics can help breeders develop varieties that are more resilient, higher yielding and better adapted to future growing conditions.
“The network has already been extremely useful in highlighting the shared challenges that colleagues working in this area are facing and will no doubt lead to new collaborations and projects.”
Dr Miriam Schreiber, The James Hutton Institute
Despite its enormous potential, plant pangenomics remains technically challenging. Plant genomes are often much larger and more complex than those of many other organisms, with high levels of repetition, heterozygosity (having two different versions of a gene) and multiple sets of chromosomes. As a result, progress in plant pangenome research has lagged behind similar work in bacteria, humans and other animals.
Dr Miriam Schreiber, researcher at the Hutton said, “The network has already been extremely useful in highlighting the shared challenges that colleagues working in this area are facing. It is a great place to connect with others and will no doubt lead to new collaborations and projects.”
The IPPN has been established to help address these challenges by creating a collaborative community where expertise, data, tools and best practice can be shared. The network provides a platform for researchers to work together on common challenges, accelerate innovation and develop the methods and standards needed to unlock the full potential of plant pangenomics.
“The strength of the network comes from its members,” said Chair, Dr Rachel Rusholme Pilcher from the Earlham Institute in Norwich, which hosts the network.
“We are fortunate to have a community that is incredibly generous with its expertise, experiences and ideas. Members openly share not only what has worked in their research, but also what has not. That openness has been central to creating the collaborative environment we set out to build.”
One of the key barriers facing researchers is the need for better analytical tools tailored specifically to plant genomes. Many existing tools were originally designed for other organisms and do not always perform well when applied to the complexity of plant genetic data. Through the network, researchers can share experiences, provide feedback to developers and collaborate on new approaches that better meet the needs of the plant science community.
The IPPGN is also helping to shape the future of the field by addressing emerging challenges such as the development of standards for graphical pangenomes. As graph-based approaches become increasingly important in genomics research, establishing common standards will be crucial to ensuring pangenome data is interoperable, reproducible and widely usable. Without agreed methods for assessing the quality of pangenome graphs, there is a risk that valuable data cannot be fully shared or applied.
By bringing together expertise from across the global plant science community, the IPPN aims to accelerate discoveries that will support sustainable crop improvement and strengthen food security for future generations.
