A new atlas for plant genomes

As we become increasingly able to reshape genomes, the need to organize information in efficient and accessible ways continues to grow. More than a thousand plant genomes have now been sequenced, with the pace accelerating, so it is good news that the plant genetics community can rely on PubPlant, a new interactive, updatable, and freely accessible atlas introduced in Frontiers in Plant Science. The magazine The Scientist has written about it, likening PubPlant to a kind of Google Maps for plant DNA, designed to help researchers more quickly pinpoint key genomic regions linked to traits such as disease resistance, nutritional quality, or climate adaptation. (Image Credit: Salk Institute-USDA)