Received 11 February 2012; Revised 27 March 2012; Accepted 2 April 2012 | Lin Liu, Yinhu Li, Siliang Li, Ni Hu, Yimin He, Ray Pong, Danni Lin, Lihua Lu, and Maggie Law
This review article by Lin Liu et al. from the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) provides a comprehensive comparison of next-generation sequencing (NGS) systems, including SOLiD/Ion Torrent PGM, Genome Analyzer/HiSeq 2000/MiSeq, and GS FLX Titanium/GS Junior. The authors highlight the advancements in NGS technologies, which have significantly reduced costs and increased throughput and accuracy. They discuss the historical development of DNA sequencing, from Frederick Sanger's chain-termination method to the current NGS systems. The article details the technologies, advantages, and specific applications of each system, such as read length, accuracy, and cost. It also compares the performance of these systems in various applications, including de novo sequencing, mate-pair, whole genome resequencing, small RNA, transcriptome, RNA-seq, epigenomics, and metagenomics. Additionally, the article outlines BGI's extensive experience and contributions to major genome projects, emphasizing the institute's role in advancing genomics research and applications in agriculture, medicine, and other fields.This review article by Lin Liu et al. from the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) provides a comprehensive comparison of next-generation sequencing (NGS) systems, including SOLiD/Ion Torrent PGM, Genome Analyzer/HiSeq 2000/MiSeq, and GS FLX Titanium/GS Junior. The authors highlight the advancements in NGS technologies, which have significantly reduced costs and increased throughput and accuracy. They discuss the historical development of DNA sequencing, from Frederick Sanger's chain-termination method to the current NGS systems. The article details the technologies, advantages, and specific applications of each system, such as read length, accuracy, and cost. It also compares the performance of these systems in various applications, including de novo sequencing, mate-pair, whole genome resequencing, small RNA, transcriptome, RNA-seq, epigenomics, and metagenomics. Additionally, the article outlines BGI's extensive experience and contributions to major genome projects, emphasizing the institute's role in advancing genomics research and applications in agriculture, medicine, and other fields.