“We want to represent all the branches of the human tree,” said Ira Hall, a geneticist who leads the Yale Center for Genomic Health.

Some of the new genomes will come from New Yorkers who previously participated in a research program at the Mount Sinai Health System. If their preliminary DNA data seems to reflect certain underrepresented genetic backgrounds, those individuals will be invited to participate in the pangenome project.

Some gaps might never get plugged in the publicly available reference, though — by design.

Previous attempts to capture human genetic diversity often extracted sequence data from marginalized populations without regard for their needs and preferences. Informed by those ethical missteps, pangenome coordinators are now collaborating with Indigenous groups to develop formal policies around data ownership.

“We are still grappling with the issue of native and tribal sovereignty,” said Barbara Koenig, a bioethicist at the University of California, San Francisco, who was involved in the project.

In Australia, researchers are incorporating DNA sequences from various Aboriginal peoples into a similar depository that will be combined with the open-source pangenome, but then kept behind a firewall. According to Hardip Patel of Australia’s National Centre for Indigenous Genomics in Canberra, the scientists next plan to consult with community leaders about if or how to make the data accessible through request.