Researchers from UC San Diego introduced PanMAN (Pangenome Mutation‑Annotated Network), a new file format and data structure that dramatically compresses large pangenome datasets while preserving mutational and evolutionary relationships. The team tested PanMAN on an eight‑million‑genome SARS‑CoV‑2 pangenome and reported unrivaled compression performance. PanMAN aims to reduce storage costs and increase accessibility for massive consortia holding viral and population pangenomes, enabling broader sharing and interactive analysis. The approach balances graph‑based representations with mutation annotation to retain analytic utility. If adopted by major pangenome projects, PanMAN could lower the barrier for large‑scale comparative genomics and improve responsiveness in pathogen surveillance and evolutionary studies.