TABLE 3.
Comparison of nucleic acid sequencing methodsa
| Characteristic | Ion Torrent | 454 Sequencing | Sanger sequencing | SOLiD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sequencing chemistry | Ion semiconductor sequencing | Pyrosequencing | Terminator sequencing | Ligation-based sequencing |
| Amplification approach | Emulsion PCR | Emulsion PCR | Liquid-phase reaction | Emulsion PCR |
| Mb/run | 100–400 | 400–700 | 0.001 (1,000 bp) | 150,000 |
| Time/run | 1.5 h | 7–10 h | 3 h | 7–9 days |
| Read length (bp) | 200 | 400 | 800–1,500 | 35 × 75 |
| Reads/run | ∼1,000,000 | ∼1,000,000 | Not applicable | 700,000,000–1 billion |
| Sequence accuracy (%) | 98.4–98.9 | 99.51–99.96 | 99.999 | 99.94–99.99 |
| Cost (US$) per: | ||||
| Run | ∼500–700 | 6,000–8,000 | 100.00 | 4,000 |
| Mb | <5.00 | 10.00–15.00 | 2,400.00 | 0.04 |
| Instrument | 50,000 | 500,000 | 100,000 | 595,000 |