Sequencing Platforms > 454 (Roche)

454 (Roche) 

454 was the first of the NGS platforms on the market. It uses emulsion PCR (emPCR) to clonally amplify the fragments that are then sequenced via sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) technology.

The GS FLX System is 454′s flagship sequencing system. The current specifications, when operated with the Titanium series reagents, offer up to 1M reads with a Q20 read length of 400 bases in a 10 hour run. It requires the use of emulsion PCR (emPCR) and has a higher cost per base than the NGS market leaders. It is typically used in situations where long reads are at a premium and the number of reads/runs aren’t critical.

Genome Sequencer Junior

The GS Junior is a less powerful version of the GS FLX system, offering about one tenth the output of the FLX but at one fourth the instrument cost: ~100k reads with an average Q20 read length of 400 bases in a 10 hour run. Its main attractions are the small footprint (about the size of a laser printer) and the less expensive runs (albeit at a higher cost per base) and it is geared for those researchers who have modest sequencing needs.