This disclosure relates to systems and methods for communicating and storing data that may include genomic data. In certain embodiments, a sample genome may be stored and/or communicated as a list of variants relative to a reference dataset. Transmission and/or storage of a set of variants relative to a reference genome may allow for more efficient storage and/or communication of the sample genome. Systems and methods are further disclosed that allow for the efficient selection and computation of a reference dataset used to represent a set of sample genomes.