Recent advances in optical mapping have allowed the construction of improved genome assemblies with greater contiguity. Optical mapping also enables genome comparison and identification of large-scale structural variations. Association of these large-scale genomic features with biological functions is an important goal in plant and animal breeding and in medical research. Optical mapping has also been used in microbiology and still plays an important role in strain typing and epidemiological studies. Here, we review the development of optical mapping in recent decades to illustrate its importance in genomic research. We detail its applications and algorithms to show its specific advantages. Finally, we discuss the challenges required to facilitate the optimization of optical mapping and improve its future development and application.

光学绘图的最新进展使得能够构建具有更大连续性的改进基因组组件。光学绘图还可以实现基因组比较和大规模结构变异的识别。这些大规模基因组特征与生物功能的关联是植物和动物育种以及医学研究的重要目标。光学绘图也已用于微生物学，并且在菌株分型和流行病学研究中仍然发挥着重要作用。在这里，我们回顾了近几十年来光学图谱的发展，以说明其在基因组研究中的重要性。我们详细介绍其应用和算法，以展示其具体优势。最后，我们讨论了促进光学测绘优化和改进其未来发展和应用所需的挑战。