ABSTRACT
It is important to note that an integrated approach is critical to success. What works best when small numbers of samples with few time constraints are sequenced may not be transferable to a large-scale project. It may therefore be necessary to reoptimize the performance of each of the critical technologies to achieve a workable compromise for large-scale applications. One does not necessarily strive for the best
detection limits, the most efficient separations, the highest degree of flexibility, or the most sophisticated hardware and software. There is little to be gained if reducing the cost of some of the steps leads to incompatibility with high-speed, high-throughput operation, and ultimately higher costs for the other steps. We need, however, a set of technologies that can function in concert through the entire operation to achieve the final goal of cost-effective, high-speed, high-throughput DNA sequencing.
