Sorghum Genomics and Pan-Genomics in the Next-Generation Sequencing Era

Abstract

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is one of the principal food crops in arid and semi-arid production ecologies, renowned for its resilience to environmental changes. Its ability to thrive under conditions where other staple crops often fail has earned it the reputation of a climate-smart crop, offering a sustainable solution to food and nutritional insecurity in developing regions. The advent of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized sorghum genomics, providing unprecedented insights into its genetic diversity, functional genomics, and agricultural applications. Understanding the genetic basis of wide adaptability of sorghum is critical for advancing molecular breeding programs and research on other C4 crops. Recent breakthroughs in functional and comparative genomics have identified key genetic loci and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with agronomic and adaptive traits, offering new opportunities for sorghum improvement. The emergence of pan-genomics marks a paradigm shift, extending beyond single-reference genomes to explore the genetic heterogeneity across diverse sorghum accessions. This approach enhances our understanding of genome diversity and functionality, paving the way for the development of improved sorghum varieties. This chapter highlights the latest advancements in sorghum genomic research, emphasizing the roles of functional genomics and pan-genomics in uncovering and harnessing agronomically significant traits. © 2026 selection and editorial matter, Dinesh Kumar Saini and S. V. Krishna Jagadish; individual chapters, the contributors.