Beginner’s guide to next-generation sequencing

Since the publication of first draft human genome 20 years ago, several novel sequencing technologies have emerged. Whilst some drive cost DNA down, others address difficult parts which remained inaccessible so far. But next-generation (NGS) landscape is a fast-changing environment and one can easily get lost between second- third- generation sequencers, or pros cons short- versus long-read technologies. In this beginner’s guide to NGS, we will review main NGS available in 2021. We compare sample preparation protocols methods, highlighting requirements advantages each technology.