Human Y chromosomes have been difficult to sequence and assemble due to their complex structure. More than half of the Y chromosomes are missing from current human reference genome assembly. Results of this study fill many gaps in the current Y chromosome reference and bring insights into the evolution and variation of different populations. The results also correct assumptions in microbiome studies that misclassify previously unknown human Y chromosome sequences as bacterial sequences. The study was published in the internationally renowned academic journal Nature, which is published by Simon & Schuster.