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Genomic and phenomic screens of 827 wheat landraces from the A. E. Watkins collection provide insight into the wheat population genetic background, unlocking many agronomic traits and revealing haplotypes that could potentially be used to improve modern wheat cultivars.

It remains unknown why only some sickle cell disease (SCD) patients develop lung thrombosis. Here, the authors show that an extracellular vesicle-dependent mechanism prevents lung thrombosis in SCD and how a CD39 polymorphism impairs this protection to promote lung thrombosis in subset of patients.

Stb15 provides resistance to Septoria tritici blotch in wheat and encodes a G-type lectin receptor-like kinase. The three cloned Stb genes, which are effective against different pathogen isolates, encode diverse receptor-like kinases with extracellular domains potentially involved in sugar binding.

Landraces collected 100 years ago have been used to identify novel QTLs and candidate genes for essential mineral micronutrients in wheat, demonstrating the potential of exploiting diversity in older genotypes.

Comparative analysis of genetic variations of bread wheat accessions created in the last 150 years and 45 related species revealed a major contribution of introgressions and chromosomal rearrangements to cultivated wheat diversity.

Brinton, Uauy and colleagues utilize genomic data from the 10+ Wheat Genome Project to develop a useful tool for studying and generating new wheat cultivars. This framework uses advanced exploitation of wheat haplotypes to bring newfound precision and efficiency to wheat breeding.

Polygenic scores for body mass index and obesity constructed using data from 5 million people with different ancestries were associated with distinct weight gain trajectories from early childhood to adulthood.

Integrated multi-omic analyses using samples from the TRACERx study highlight cross-talk between DNA hypermethylation and genomic lesions in non-small cell lung cancer.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

The results of the Fifth RNA-Puzzles contest highlights advances in RNA three-dimensional structure prediction and uncovers new insights into RNA folding and structure.

Whole-genome sequencing and phenotype data sharing are introduced in a national health system to streamline diagnosis and to discover coding and non-coding variants that cause rare diseases.

Circulating tumour DNA profiling in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer can be used to track single-nucleotide variants in plasma to predict lung cancer relapse and identify tumour subclones involved in the metastatic process.

In this study, Aggarwal and colleagues perform prospective sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 isolates derived from asymptomatic student screening and symptomatic testing of students and staff at the University of Cambridge. They identify important factors that contributed to within university transmission and onward spread into the wider community.

A trans-ancestry meta-analysis of GWAS of glycemic traits in up to 281,416 individuals identifies 99 novel loci, of which one quarter was found due to the multi-ancestry approach, which also improves fine-mapping of credible variant sets.

SCIFER detects clonal selection in whole-genome sequencing data using a population genetics model. Applied to a range of somatic tissues, SCIFER quantifies stem cell dynamics and infers clonal ages and sizes without requiring knowledge of driver events.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

A large genome-wide association study of more than 5 million individuals reveals that 12,111 single-nucleotide polymorphisms account for nearly all the heritability of height attributable to common genetic variants.

A genome-wide association meta-analysis study of blood lipid levels in roughly 1.6 million individuals demonstrates the gain of power attained when diverse ancestries are included to improve fine-mapping and polygenic score generation, with gains in locus discovery related to sample size.

A robust, cost-effective technique based on whole-exome sequencing data can be used to characterize immune infiltrates, relate the extent of these infiltrates to somatic changes in tumours, and enables prediction of tumour responses to immune checkpoint inhibition therapy.

Results of the TRACERx study shed new light into the association between body composition and body weight with survival in individuals with non-small cell lung cancer, and delineate potential biological processes and mediators contributing to the development of cancer-associated cachexia.

Cellular stresses can alter ribosome synthesis and induce proliferation arrest or apoptosis. Here, the authors find that the protein SURF2 regulates cell stress responses by binding and buffering free 5S ribonucleoprotein particles.

Immune lymphocyte estimation from nucleotide sequencing (ImmuneLENS) infers B cell and T cell fractions from whole-genome sequencing data. Applied to the 100,000 Genomes Project datasets, circulating T cell fraction provides sex-dependent and prognostic insights in patients.

Concerns are emerging around wheat-based foods made from refined white flour and human health. This Review summarizes the impact of the amount, composition and interactions of the major carbohydrate components within wheat food products on human health and strategies to manipulate these components.

Lysosomes maintain RPE health via TFEB/E3-regulated autophagy. Here, the authors show deregulated AKT2/SIRT5/TFEB signaling in the RPE inhibits both lysosomal and mitochondrial function and leads to AMD, suggesting this pathway might provide a therapeutic target for AMD.

Combination of epidemiology, preclinical models and ultradeep DNA profiling of clinical cohorts unpicks the inflammatory mechanism by which air pollution promotes lung cancer

The MAGIC investigators report results of a large genome-wide association study meta-analysis to identify common variants influencing fasting glucose homeostasis. They further show that several of the newly discovered loci influencing glycemic traits are also associated with risk of type 2 diabetes.

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of individuals with primary immunodeficiency identifies new candidate disease-associated genes and shows how the interplay between genetic variants can explain the variable penetrance and complexity of the disease.

Analysis of 46 newly sequenced or re-sequenced Tausch’s goatgrass (Aegilops tauschii) accessions establishes the origin of the bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) D genome from genetically and geographically discrete Ae. tauschii subpopulations.

It is not fully understood how XPA interacts with a DNA lesion during nucleotide excision repair. Here, the authors use single molecule analysis to study XPA–DNA interactions, including the DNA bend angle, protein stoichiometry, and diffusive properties during damage search.

Investigation of variation in three cohorts has identified multiple genetic signals associated with the pregnancy-specific liver disorder, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, giving insight into the disease which can cause preterm birth and stillbirth.

Association analyses in over 1 million individuals identify 535 new loci influencing blood pressure traits. The results provide new insights into blood pressure regulation and highlight shared genetic architecture between blood pressure and lifestyle exposures.

Gilean McVean and colleagues report the results of a large-scale clinical genome sequencing project spanning a broad spectrum of disorders. They identify factors influencing successful genetic diagnosis and highlight the challenges of interpreting findings for genetically heterogeneous disorders.

Chronic infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to the emergence of viral variants that show reduced susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies in an immunosuppressed individual treated with convalescent plasma.

Sera from vaccinated individuals and some monoclonal antibodies show a modest reduction in neutralizing activity against the B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2; but the E484K substitution leads to a considerable loss of neutralizing activity.