Genome sequencing of medicinal plants: Current status and future perspectives

Medicinal plants constitute a vital resource for traditional and modern healthcare systems, owing to their rich repertoire of bioactive secondary metabolites. In recent years, genome sequencing has emerged as a powerful tool to elucidate the genetic basis of medicinal properties, facilitate conservation, and enable sustainable utilization of these valuable plant resources. Advances in next-generation and third-generation sequencing technologies have led to a rapid increase in the number and quality of sequenced medicinal plant genomes. High-quality chromosome-level assemblies have provided new insights into specialized metabolite biosynthesis, genome evolution, and genetic diversity. However, challenges such as large genome sizes, polyploidy, heterozygosity, and limited functional annotation remain significant. This review summarizes the current status of medicinal plant genome sequencing, highlights major technological and biological achievements, discusses existing challenges, and outlines future directions.