Bread matters: a national initiative to profile the genetic diversity of Australian wheat

The large and complex genome of wheat makes genetic and genomic analysis in this important species both expensive and resource intensive. The application of next-generation sequencing technologies is particularly resource intensive, with at least 17 Gbp of sequence data required to obtain minimal (1×) coverage of the genome. A similar volume of data would represent almost 40× coverage of the rice genome. Progress can be made through the establishment of consortia to produce shared genomic resources. Australian wheat genome researchers, working with Bioplatforms Australia, have collaborated in a national initiative to establish a genetic diversity dataset representing Australian wheat germplasm based on whole genome next-generation sequencing data. Here, we describe the establishment and validation of this resource which can provide a model for broader international initiatives for the analysis of large and complex genomes.