# On the Pan-Genome

DevFeed: [On the Pan-Genome](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/on-the-pan-genome-36505.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/on-the-pan-genome/>)

Published: 2019-07-12T07:10:21Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Bert Hubert's writings](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/bert-hubert-s-writings.md>)

Topics: [Computing](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/computing.md>), [file](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/file.md>), [format](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/format.md>)

Tags: [biology](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/biology.md>), [computing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/computing.md>), [dna](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/dna.md>), [file](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/file.md>), [format](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/format.md>), [formats](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/formats.md>)

## AI overview

This article explains how human genome references represent a mixture of people rather than one individual and how the FASTA file format cannot encode population-level genetic variation in a single sequence. It introduces the pan-genome as a broader representation that captures genes found in some but not all organisms.

## Source excerpt

In this post I want to shine a light on an important development within the world of DNA which shows how much DNA and the world of computing are now intertwined. It turns out we share important problems, like in this case: file formats. Note: I expect to be posting more DNA material as part of my efforts to write a book on this fascinating subject. If you enjoy reading about DNA, you might like the links/presentations/videos found on this page.