The price of genome sequencing has decreased by more than half in the last five years, but it still costs labs hundreds of dollars for each one. Choosing between DNA sequencing techniques is crucial to ensure you get the best results for your money. So, how do you select a sequencing method and ensure that you reduce waste within your department?
The below guide offers several clinical DNA sequencing tips to help you determine your analytical direction. Read each point to understand how to simplify decision-making now and improve future choices. Learn how companies like Axon Medical can help you choose the best sequencing equipment for your needs to stay ahead in the field.
The Importance of Understanding DNA in Diagnostics and Treatment
DNA sequencing plays a pivotal role in modern healthcare. This tool helps doctors diagnose and treat genetic disorders, providing insights that are hard to obtain through other means.
Doctors can create personalized treatment plans by understanding their patients’ genes, which helps them target health issues more accurately. This knowledge helps healthcare workers identify genetic mutations that may cause different diseases. These insights help find problems that regular diagnostic tools might miss, resulting in better treatment.
Introduction to DNA Sequencing
DNA sequencing is a method to “read” a cell’s DNA. Genetics has undergone a significant transformation in recent years. This has helped us better understand DNA research and improved many areas of medicine.
Understanding the methods used to enact DNA sequencing empowers you to choose the right one based on your needs. You can then offer the highest level of accuracy in any diagnosis or treatment you enact.
What Is DNA Sequencing?
DNA sequencing allows medical staff to determine the sequence of nucleotides in a DNA molecule. Studying these nucleotides helps us understand genetic information in cells. This knowledge will enable doctors to identify unusual traits in DNA. Many of the more common sequencing methods include:
- Sanger
- Next-generation
- Third-generation
- Whole genome
- Whole exome
- Targeted
Each method has strengths and weaknesses, which is better for different applications. So, you should make informed decisions about the one you choose based on the specific task you have in mind.
Why DNA Sequencing Matters
DNA sequencing is vital in ensuring accurate genetic diagnoses. It helps to determine if people are expressing specific genetic variants that might bear responsibility for certain diseases. The data is also helpful in guiding treatment decisions and estimating a disease’s progression.
In research settings, it can help understand how diseases work and find new genetic information. This information was known to researchers after. In theory, the applications are vast, and as such, it is a crucial technology in many different settings.
Even outside the medical field, sequencing helps to:
- Develop disease-resistant crops
- Improve farming yields
- Empower veterinary medicine
- Identify individuals in forensic policing
- Develop new drugs that can target specific molecules
Each listed sequencing feature can benefit the wider world, even if not related solely to medicine.
Guide Structure
The following guide introduces how DNA sequencing works and summarises each method. Explore the following areas:
- Understanding DNA sequencing
- DNA sequencing methods
- Applications for DNA sequencing
- Future expectations for DNA sequencing
- Concluding thoughts
Understanding DNA Sequencing
DNA sequencing has progressed from slow Sanger methods to fast, high-throughput techniques for determining nucleotide order. The process now has a much higher accuracy and precision, so results are less likely to mislead medical staff.
Choosing the most suitable method depends on your specific research goals, and you might need to balance traits such as:
- Desired accuracy level
- Cost of the research
- Read the length of the sequence
- Turnaround time
- Sample quality
Understanding these factors ensures optimal results, preventing mistakes.
The following are some of the most common DNA sequencing methods and their advantages and disadvantages.
Sanger Sequencing
Sanger is a highly accurate sequencing method that is perfect for small-scale projects—the first widely used method for outputting an exact sequence of DNA.
Sanger sequencing works by copying the DNA and using unique molecules that stop the reading process at each nucleotide. Separating the DNA like this creates fragments of different lengths that a researcher can read.
Many other sequencing methods compare themselves to the strong legacy and standard of the technique.
Sanger’s advantages include its accuracy and reliability. It has a long history of improving its techniques so that you can expect good results with minimal errors.
While this accuracy is helpful, it can be time-consuming. Therefore, it is often best used to confirm the results from other methods rather than relying on it alone.
Next-Generation Sequencing
Next-generation sequencing offers quick results and high efficiency for short reads, making it affordable. Unlike the older Sanger technique, it includes various newer technologies, not just one method.
These methods often have a much faster runtime than Sanger and are great for large-scale projects. They are not as accurate as Sanger in small areas but are more accurate with larger datasets.
Third-Generation Sequencing
Third-generation empowers long reads, including up to hundreds of kilobases, and real-time data analysis. It gives a better view of the whole genome, which is important for analyzing complex areas simultaneously.
As it reads DNA in real time, it can also capture modifications in the genome that other methods might miss. This information allows you to detect changes or variations that might occur.
Whole Genome Sequencing
The whole genome offers a much more comprehensive view of a genome, detailing all genetic variants. Thus, it is perfect for detecting abnormalities or new genes.
The method sequences an organism’s whole DNA, covering both genes and non-coding regions. Among those studying evolution, WGS is a common technique for comparing variations in a single species.
While useful, whole genome sequencing generates massive amounts of data. The analyzing process and storage require significant computing resources. It can also make interpreting the DNA much harder, mainly as it includes non-coding regions. Thus, it may be overkill for most applications that only need some of the data it provides.
Whole Exome Sequencing
Whole exome sequencing is similar to whole genome sequencing but much more cost-effective. It is less likely to capture variants but demands less computational power.
Whole exome sequencing reads only the exons, the parts of the genome that code for proteins. Therefore, it is perfect for discovering mutations related to protein management.
Targeted Sequencing
Targeted sequencing focuses on a specific DNA region, providing high accuracy instead of analyzing the entire genome. You can focus your research on a gene or group of genes linked to certain diseases or traits.
Lowering your sequencing target can make the entire process more affordable compared to the methods mentioned earlier. It enables better examination of specific DNA regions, increasing the chances of finding rare genetic variations.
Applications for DNA Sequencing
DNA sequencing has become a critical area of modern science, including medicine. Using information from all the above, businesses and organizations can have a greater chance of improving their process. For example:
Pharmaceutical researchers can discover new drugs by identifying genetic markets associated with diseases. They can develop more potent medicines with fewer side effects, allowing for more innovative and effective treatments.
DNA sequencing in agriculture allows for investigating ways to improve crop yields and animal breeding programs. It can often produce more usable material or make an animal or plant more resistant to pests and diseases. This research could help ensure we have enough food in the future, especially as the climate changes.
Forensic science has also transformed because of the advent of DNA sequencing. It allows for identifying individuals through DNA evidence alone, helping to solve cases that may have otherwise remained open.
Sequencing DNA helps investigators analyze small amounts of DNA at a crime scene. This can lead to more accurate criminal convictions and help prove innocence.
Other Areas of Interest
DNA sequencing offers improvements in other areas, such as conservation, where monitoring genetic diversity in a species can help organizations maintain healthy populations. It assists in preventing inbreeding and tracking the genetic health of an endangered species. Such detailed data also helps identify poached animals or products produced from their bodies.
In archaeology, this process can allow researchers to study the genetic makeup of modern and ancient organisms. Whether they look at animals, plants, or human cultures, they can perform steps such as:
- Trade migratory patterns
- Understand how different groups interacted or interbred
- Reconstruct extinct species
- Identify genetic relationships between species
- Offer insights into evolution
- Diet reconstruction from stomach contents
- Identifying pathogens from ancient remains
Analyzing biological materials used in artworks can offer new insights, even in the arts. Benefits include understanding art pigments and their origins. It also involves identifying microorganisms that could damage artwork over time.
DNA sequencing has a wide range of applications. Partnering with someone who offers expert advice and the right equipment can give you the support you need to succeed in your field.
Future Expectations for DNA Sequencing
As more vendors enter the field of DNA sequencing, we are starting to see greater market competition. Having more businesses involving themselves in this area of science has led to trends in areas including:
- Sequencing precision
- Competitive pricing
- More cost-effective methods
These make the process much more appealing to businesses and organizations. Lower costs let smaller companies use DNA sequencing. This helps them produce more or make their products more accurate.
One of the most significant trends has been leaps in possible automation during sequencing. It can make the process easier.
It can reduce mistakes, help researchers complete more sequences in the same amount of time, and make large-scale projects more accessible to finish, aiding the industry in meeting the growing demand for sequencing in various fields.
The advent of deep learning and artificial intelligence (AI) has already revolutionized the sequence analysis process. AI can provide quicker conclusions from sequencing results by finding patterns and insights humans might miss. It can help uncover findings based on much larger datasets in a fraction of the time.
Follow the advancements in single-cell omics. This will help improve our understanding of genetic differences in individual cells. Such new technology will likely boost our knowledge of more complex biological processes and how different cells interact. As such, over the next decade, we will likely make several discoveries in disease, health, and other areas.
With all the above in mind, keeping an eye on the advancements in the field is not only wise, it is good business.
Making the Right Choice in DNA Sequencing Methods
Choosing the best DNA sequencing method empowers you to meet all your clinical and research objectives. It prevents you from going over budget while getting the desired results. So, considering all the factors, you may need to ask for outside help.
Axonia Medical offers advanced medical solutions tailored to meet needs like yours. We understand the importance of DNA sequencing and want to help you make the right choice. We can also help you obtain the necessary equipment to succeed in your industry.
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