Sequencing

A method used in the laboratory to learn the order, or sequence, of the building blocks in a piece of DNA or RNA. Sequencing can be used to determine the entire genetic makeup of a specific organism, i.e. their genome, and identify mutations.

There are different types of sequencing methodologies, including Sanger sequencing and next-generation sequencing (NGS). Next-generation sequencing allows a higher throughput than Sanger sequencing, meaning millions of DNA or RNA pieces can be sequenced at the same time as opposed to Sanger sequencing which can only sequence a single piece of DNA or RNA at a time.