2018 Annual Report

In 2018 the IWGSC saw the culmination of 13 years of hard work and the beginning of an exciting new phase. In July, all resources related to the IWGSC reference sequence (IWGSC RefSeq v1.0) project were released to the community without restriction and, in August, the article describing the analyses of these resources was published in Science, along with six companion papers. The quality of the reference sequence is unprecedented and demonstrated the power of integrating all types of data (whole genome assemblies, HiC, physical maps, and chromosome-based resources) to reach a level of completion and ordering that creates value for all scientists and breeders.

This major milestone would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of more than 200 scientists around the world who worked relentlessly under the coordination of the IWGSC over the last 13 years.

This could also not have been completed without the support and dedication of the IWGSC sponsors over these years. Some of them, like Kansas Wheat Commission (Kansas Wheat), INRA, and Limagrain, have been supporting the IWGSC from the early years, and we are extremely grateful for their continuous support.

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