DNA Sequencing: Which Is the Right Technology to Choose?

With the advancement of technology, clinical disease research, drug development, and genome research have faced a huge transformation and shift toward the DNA sequencing procedure in their research process. Nowadays, two different types of DNA sequencing technologies are used in research fields- Sanger sequencing and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS).

Sanger sequencing

Sanger sequencing follows a chain-termination method to utilize chemically developed and radiolabeled analogs of those four nucleotides- A, C, G, and T. This sequencing technology involves capillary electrophoresis of fluorescent-labeled DNA fragments for sequencing read generation. The read lengths are usually achieved from 500 bp to 600 bp but up to 800 bp. The longer the read lengths are, the better advantages the research can gain, especially in the case of genome repetitive region sequencing.

Next-Gen Sequencing (NGS)

On the contrary, Next-Gen Sequencing (NGS) is based on a massively parallel sequencing method. This fairly new sequencing technology has brought a revolution in molecular biology by generating millions of shorter reads synchronously. Hence, when choosing NGS for DNA sequencing services, you can expect the whole genome to be sequenced within a fraction of time but through different steps, from template to library preparation to fragment amplification to sequencing. But there are no requirements for electrophoresis steps like Sanger sequencing.

Which one is best- Sanger sequencing or Next-Gen Sequencing (NGS)

In short, both these DNA sequencing technologies are great choices in genetic analysis and research fields due to their quick turnaround time.

But which one will be the right choice for your needs depends on different factors, and we are going to discuss that in today’s blog.

Generally, both options are great for DNA sequencing. But you should go for the one suited to your research goals, qualifications, accuracy requirements, the required read length, accuracy, and the available sample types.

For instance, in Sanger sequencing technology, accuracy is critical for its base-calling applications. That’s why DNA sequencing experts usually use this technology to confirm the DNA variants as an orthogonal process. In fact, this DNA sequencing technology is used in human genetic disease research for phenotypic heterogeneity level observation to generate reads up to 800 bp. Here, the experts can confirm NGS variants or analyze one or two genes with a defined phenotype.

But the sequencing specialists choose Next-Gen Sequencing (NGS) during disease research to identify its Nobel variants with a huge number of genes and a higher phenotypic heterogeneity level. At one time, it can examine hundreds or thousands of genes in different samples while analyzing and discovering their genomic features during a single sequencing, from structural variants to single nucleotide variants to RNA fusions.

Besides, you need to keep in mind the following points as well while outsourcing DNA sequencing services to determine the best sequencing technology suited to your needs. Such as:

Turnaround time:

Sanger sequencing takes around 30 minutes for a quick turnaround with a single sequencing run time. But for NGS, the fast analysis and sequencing throughput requires at least 3 hours, although the process is flexible.

Key attributes:

The read length is up to 800 bp in Sanger sequencing, but NGS provides short reads. And using Next-Gen Sequencing (NGS), the overall costs for DNA sequencing services will go down as your targets keep growing.

Research applications:

Next-Gen Sequencing (NGS) can be used in whole genome sequencing, DNA and RNA sequencing, Exon sequencing, Systems Biology, Transcriptome, single-nucleotide variants, and more. In contrast, the experts use Sanger sequencing in different research fields, like microbial identification, validation of NGS-detected variants, SNP genotyping, and so on.

Sample costs:

Sanger sequencing technology analyzes one or two genes or around 96 targets. But Next-Gen Sequencing (NGS) researches 96 targets in just a single run. Yet, the former is perfect for you if you have a small-scale project. Otherwise, the latter will be cost-effective for large-scale projects.

Bottom Line

We hope you can determine which DNA sequencing technology will be right for your research using the attributes. But whether you need Sanger or NGS, count on us. At Bio Basic, we provide affordable and quick DNA sequencing services. Our experts ensure successful project completion.