The Ag1000G release of 765 Anopheles gambiae and coluzzii mosquito genomes is enabling investigation of these medically important malaria vector species at a resolution and breadth never possible before.

Perhaps the most striking genetic feature of these mosquitoes is the vast wealth of diversity found across their genomes – nearly one single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) for every two bases of the reference genome. With this genetic diversity has come the discovery of many previously undetected non-synonymous (protein altering) mutations.

All of us, in our DNA, carry a rich record of our past – a fact that can be exploited to study human health and disease.

The recent release of 845 mosquito genomes by the Ag1000G Consortium provides the scientific community with a fantastic resource to investigate a huge variety of questions on a number of topics, such as speciation genomics, evidence for selection, and levels of population diversity.

Yet, working with such a huge dataset is complex. Just loading the genotype data into memory can be challenging – and that's before you even start on analysis!