Genomics has changed the way we study plants. Genome sequences can help researchers investigate evolutionary relationships, biological functions and the genetic foundations of plant traits. By 2025, whole-genome sequences had been reported for more than two thousand flowering plant species, reflecting the remarkable pace at which genomic resources are accumulating. Yet this expansion has not represented the world’s plant diversity equally.
Tropical regions contain an exceptional share of that diversity, including wild species, forest trees and crops of regional and global importance. Nevertheless, plant genome sequencing has remained disproportionately focused on temperate species and plants with established utilitarian value. This leaves many tropical lineages poorly represented in the genomic resources used to investigate plant evolution, adaptation and diversity.
The new review Genomics of Tropical Plants: Current Progress, Applications and Challenges, published in Tropical Plant Biology, examines how the field has developed and considers what genomics can contribute to the study of tropical plants. Rather than treating sequencing as an endpoint, the article discusses genomic information as a foundation for exploring genome structure, evolutionary history and biological function.
New connections
This perspective is relevant well beyond the genomics community. High-quality genome assemblies, annotation, bioinformatics and complementary omics approaches can support questions in plant physiology, ecology, evolution, conservation and crop research. Genomic resources may therefore create new connections between disciplines, particularly when they are combined with ecological observations, experimental studies and knowledge of the environments in which tropical species occur.
The review also draws attention to the work that remains. A growing number of sequenced genomes does not by itself correct the taxonomic and geographical imbalances in available data. Current resources still favour a limited portion of plant diversity, while many tropical species and lineages remain overlooked. Recent academic discussions have consequently called for broader sampling, locally led research capacity, appropriate attention to data access and benefit sharing, and stronger links between genomics, conservation and ecological monitoring.
Expanding tropical plant genomics will require more than sequencing additional species. It will depend on thoughtful choices about which plants are studied, the questions that guide the research and how genomic resources are maintained and used. For researchers working across plant science, this review offers an opportunity to consider both the progress already made and the scientific possibilities that remain unexplored.