A chickpea genetic variation map based on the sequencing of 3,366 genomes

Rajeev Varshney, Principal Investigator

State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre, Centre for Crop and Food Innovation, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia

22 Apr 2026

13 May 2026

multiple funding sources

Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare (DAFW), Government of India; Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF); National Key R&D Program of China; Shenzhen Municipal Government, China; National Science Foundation (NSF), USA

This project generated a comprehensive global genetic variation map of chickpea by whole-genome sequencing of 3,366 accessions (3,171 cultivated and 195 wild). It developed a chickpea pan-genome, identified SNPs, structural variants, superior haplotypes, and genomic regions under domestication and breeding selection, and proposed genomics-assisted breeding strategies to improve yield, diversity conservation, and climate resilience in chickpea.

A chickpea genetic variation map based on the sequencing of 3,366 genomes DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04066-1