Researched
Next-Generation DNA Sequencing
Machines that read millions of short DNA pieces at the same time, first sold in 2005, cut the cost of reading a human genome from about $100 million in 2001 to about $10,000 in 2011.
Open in the interactive tree →454 Life Sciences sold the first such machine, the GS20, in 2005, and Illumina took over the competing Solexa method in January 2007. These machines read the first million letters of the Neanderthal genome in 2006 and James Watson's genome in 2007; from 2008 the cost fell much faster than Moore's law, and Illumina announced a machine for about $1,000 per genome in January 2014. Cheap sequencing is what made single-cell atlases, ancient-DNA studies and surveys of the gut microbiome routine.
Prerequisites
- CCD Image Sensor1969Each DNA fragment's flash of light is recorded by a camera chip.
- Sanger DNA Sequencing1977The new machines still read DNA by building a copy letter by letter.
- PCR (Copying DNA)1985Both main methods first copy each DNA piece many times.
- Human Genome Project & Sequencing2003Short reads are matched against the finished human reference genome.
Unlocks
- Human Microbiome2007-2012Microbiome surveys read millions of DNA fragments from every sample.
- Single-Cell Atlases2016Single-cell sequencing runs on these high-volume DNA readers.
- COVID-19 Pandemic2020The new virus's genome was read within days by high-volume sequencers.
- Ancient DNA & Human Origins2022Ancient DNA is cut into tiny pieces that only high-volume sequencers can read.