Roche-454b | Pyrosequencing; sequencing by synthesis | GS FLX+ | 1,000 bp | Will no longer be used by 2016; long reads made the platform well suited for de novo assembly and pathogen discovery |
Illumina | Reversible terminator chemistry | NextSeq | 300 bp | Current workhorse of NGS platforms; supplies bidirectional reads; platform can be used for pathogen discovery, exome sequencing, targeted sequencing; also overcomes homopolymeric regions |
ABI SOLiD | Sequencing by ligation, oligonucleotide probe ligation | 5500 SOLiD | 75 bp | High sequence accuracy makes the platform equipped for genome resequencing and polymorphism analysis |
Ion Torrent | H+ ion-sensitive transistor | Ion Proton I | 200 bp | Platform is suitable for small genome sequencing, exome sequencing, and targeted sequencing |
HeliScopeTM b | Reversible terminator chemistry | HeliScope™ single-molecule sequencer | 35 bp | Requires the addition of a poly(A) tail; platform is effective at sequencing native viral genomes and immune-precipitated methylated DNA; capable of sequencing small sample quantities; high platform costs and poor sales lead caused production to cease |
PacBio | Real-time sequencing; phospholinked fluorescent nucleotides | PacBio RSII | 50 kb | Platform provides long read sequencing and a low degree of bias; suitable for de novo assembly, targeted sequencing, and base modification detection |
Oxford Nanopore | Real-time sequencing; electronic sensing or nanopore sequencing | MinION | >50 kb | A portable, USB-powered sequencer that is under development and has been used by participants in MAPc for de novo assembly and resequencing |