The A, C, G, and T of Genome Assembly

Table 2

The table enlists the strong points and challenges pertaining to some of the sequencing platforms.

Platform	Positive points	Challenges
Sanger (Applied Biosystems 3730xl)	Long read length; good for individual gene analysis	Slow; expensive; poor quality due to primer dimer
454 GS+	Long read length; fast; low cost for small studies	High error rate for homopolymer read; low throughput; will be phased out in 2016
454 GS FLX+	Long read length	High error rate homopolymer read; low throughput; large capital cost; will be phased out in 2016
MiSeq	High throughput; ideal for small genome project	Short read length
HiSeq X Ten	High throughput; ideal for whole-genome project	Short read length
NextSeq 500	High throughput; ideal for small to large scale project	Short read length
SOLiD 5500xl	High throughput	Short read length; poor output data distribution and arduous data analysis
Ion Proton I	Ideal for small project; shorter run time; leading future technology	Higher error rate; larger cost per Mb
Ion PGM 318	Low capital investment and running cost; shorter run time	Higher error rate; larger cost per Mb
Polonator G.007	Cost-effective; open resource	Obsolete
Helicos HeliScope	Single-molecule sequencing; simple sample preparation and data analysis	Short read length; obsolete
PacBio RS II	Single-molecule real-time sequencing; longest available read length	High error rate