Pangenomic Initiatives in the Middle East

The pangenome initiative marks a major shift from reliance on a single human reference that undersamples global diversity. Building phased, diploid assemblies from specific regions reveals population haplotypes and structural variants. This review outlines core pangenome concepts and surveys initiatives across Middle Eastern countries, long underrepresented in genomic resources. We summarize advances in long-read sequencing and graph-based bioinformatics that now enable high-quality diploid assemblies and reference graphs. National genome programs exist in six countries, and some have launched pangenome efforts, revealing sequence and variant content absent from GRCh38 and CHM13. We examine how founder effects, consanguinity, and tribe-based endogamy shape the region's genetic architecture, producing runs of homozygosity and concentrated rare alleles that aid gene discovery yet challenge clinical interpretation. Finally, we argue for coordinated, region-wide pangenome initiatives, spanning ethnolinguistic and tribal groups, to create equitable genome references, improve mapping and variant calling for Middle Eastern haplotypes, and accelerate precision medicine across the region.