Technological Advances around Next-Generation Sequencing Application

Dear Colleagues,

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized genomics and molecular biology since its inception, enabling rapid and cost-effective sequencing of DNA and RNA to investigate genetic variations linked to diseases or other biological events. The common steps of the NGS experiment are library preparation, clonal amplification, sequencing, and data analysis, regardless of the instrument technology employed. The NGS technology is transforming many life science fields all over the world, suggesting that it can be a valuable tool in the field and may undergo a significant change in the years to come. Technological advances surrounding NGS applications denote the ongoing enhancements and innovations in the methodologies, instruments, and computational tools utilized for the efficient and high-throughput sequencing of DNA and RNA molecules. Key developments include the emergence of single-cell sequencing techniques, which enable the characterization of cellular heterogeneity within complex tissues and populations, and long-read sequencing technologies that facilitate the assembly of genomes, detection of structural variants, and analysis of repetitive regions with unprecedented accuracy. Metagenomics, which is another area of rapid progress, leverages NGS to explore microbial communities in diverse environments, revealing their composition, dynamics, and functional potential. Furthermore, advances in epigenomic sequencing methods allow clinicians and scientists to map DNA methylation patterns, histone modifications, and chromatin accessibility, thereby providing insights into gene regulation and cellular differentiation. In the realm of clinical applications, NGS has revolutionized molecular diagnostics, enabling the identification of genetic variants underlying inherited diseases, cancer susceptibility, and pharmacogenetic traits. Other notable advancements include the use of NGS-based liquid biopsies for the non-invasive detection of tumor-derived nucleic acids in bodily fluids and the integration of NGS with CRISPR-based technologies for functional genomics studies and genome editing applications.

This Special Issue is supervised by Dr. Gaurav Tripathi and assisted by Dr. Minal B Tripathi (University of Calgary, AB, Canada and BioAro.com).

Dr. Gaurav Tripathi
Guest Editor

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• next-generation sequencing
• single-cell sequencing
• long-read sequencing
• metagenomics
• epigenomics
• cancer genomics
• clinical applications
• liquid biopsy
• CRISPR-Cas9
• precision medicine
• personalized healthcare