Table 1. Estimated materials costs of bacterial genome sequencing.

This table shows the estimated materials (i.e., without labor) cost of performing a genome sequencing project with this workflow in 2014. The “Best Case” shows the marginal cost of sequencing one genome in a case where you are multiplexing 48 samples, and have the appropriate kits and reagents on hand. The “Worst Case” shows the cost of doing a single genome, with no multiplexing, in a lab where every reagent needed to be purchased new and was not used for anything else.

Projected cost
Item	Best case (per sample)	Worst case (per sample)
DNA extractiona	$1.66	$1.66
PCRb	$0.60	$150
PCR cleanupc	$2.00	$100
Sangerd	$14.00	$14
Library prepe	$58.33	$2,800
Illumina sequencingf	$35.42	$1,700
Total	$112.01	$4,930

Notes.

Specific assumptions are as follows;

^aThis assumes the purchase of a standard DNA extraction kit, good for 100 samples.

^bThis assumes purchase of a standard 200U PCR reagent kit.

^cPCR cleanup can be performed in a number of ways; gel extraction, beads, or columns for example. Here we assume purchase of a standard column-based kit.

^dSanger sequencing cost is given as the price per reaction ($7 at our sequencing facility), times the forward and reverse reactions.

^eThis assumes the purchase of a 48-sample Nextera or TrueSeq kit from Illumina, however kits from other manufacturers can be cheaper.

^fOur sequencing cost estimate assumes purchase of an Illumina MiSeq run from a sequencing facility.