Next-Generation Sequencing — An Overview of the History, Tools, and “Omic” Applications

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies using DNA, RNA, or methylation sequencing have impacted enormously on the life sciences. NGS is the choice for large-scale genomic and transcriptomic sequencing because of the high-throughput production and outputs of sequencing data in the gigabase range per instrument run and the lower cost compared to the traditional Sanger first-generation sequencing method. The vast amounts of data generated by NGS have broadened our understanding of structural and functional genomics through the concepts of “omics” ranging from basic genomics to integrated systeomics, providing new insight into the workings and meaning of genetic conservation and diversity of living things. NGS today is more than ever about how different organisms use genetic information and molecular biology to survive and reproduce with and without mutations, disease, and diversity within their population networks and changing environments. In this chapter, the advances, applications, and challenges of NGS are reviewed starting with a history of first-generation sequencing followed by the major NGS platforms, the bioinformatics issues confronting NGS data storage and analysis, and the impacts made in the fields of genetics, biology, agriculture, and medicine in the brave, new world of ”omics.”