TY - JOUR T1 - Is it time to change the reference genome? JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/533166 SP - 533166 AU - Sara Ballouz AU - Alexander Dobin AU - Jesse Gillis Y1 - 2019/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/01/29/533166.abstract N2 - The use of the human reference genome has shaped methods and data across modern genomics. This has offered many benefits while creating a few constraints. In the following piece, we outline the history, properties, and pitfalls of the current human reference genome. In a few illustrative analyses, we focus on its use for variant-calling, highlighting its nearness to a “type specimen”. We suggest that switching to a consensus reference offers important advantages over the current reference with few disadvantages.List of abbreviationsAFallele frequency ER -