Advances in Whole Genome Sequencing Technology

Sanger sequencing revolutionized the field of genetics by becoming the standard approach to appraise a given region of the genome at base-level resolution. However, the relatively recent need to sequence entire genomes has driven innovative developments within the market-place to allow for sequencing technology to be faster, cheaper and more accurate. In this review, we will cover these recent developments from both a technical and cost perspective. Firstly, we will place sequencing in a historical context by describing how it first came to the attention of the scientific community. Next, we will address the current high-throughput technologies generally available, including Roche's 454, Illumina's Genome Analyzer, Applied BioSystem's SOLiD, Complete Genomics, Helios, Pacific Biosciences and IonTorrent. These ‘next generation’ technologies also allow for applications related to target region deep sequencing, epigenetics(ChIP-seq), transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq), megagenomics. Thus, these technologies offer unprecedented opportunities to increase our understanding of the functions and dynamics of the human genome in the near future.