Recent years have seen a surge in plant genome sequencing projects and the comparison of multiple related individuals. The high degree of genomic variation observed led to the realization that single reference genomes do not represent the diversity within a species, and led to the expansion of the pan-genome concept. Pan-genomes represent the genomic diversity of a species and includes core genes, found in all individuals, as well as variable genes, which are absent in some individuals. Variable gene annotations often show similarities across plant species, with genes for biotic and abiotic stress commonly enriched within variable gene groups. Here we review the growth of pan-genomics in plants, explore the origins of gene presence and absence variation, and show how pan-genomes can support plant breeding and evolution studies.

近年来，植物基因组测序项目和多个相关个体的比较激增。观察到的高度基因组变异导致人们认识到单一参考基因组不能代表物种内的多样性，并导致泛基因组概念的扩展。泛基因组代表一个物种的基因组多样性，包括在所有个体中发现的核心基因以及在某些个体中不存在的可变基因。可变基因注释通常显示出跨植物物种的相似性，而生物和非生物胁迫的基因通常在可变基因组中丰富。在这里，我们回顾了泛基因组在植物中的生长，探讨了基因存在和缺失变异的起源，并展示了泛基因组如何支持植物育种和进化研究。