NGS Workflow Steps

Library preparation is crucial to the success of your NGS workflow. This step prepares DNA or RNA samples to be compatible with a sequencer. Sequencing libraries are typically created by fragmenting DNA and adding specialized adapters to both ends. In the Illumina sequencing workflow, these adapters contain complementary sequences that allow the DNA fragments to bind to the flow cell. Fragments can then be amplified and purified.

To save resources, multiple libraries can be pooled together and sequenced in the same run—a process known as multiplexing. During adapter ligation, unique index sequences, or “barcodes,” are added to each library. These barcodes are used to distinguish between the libraries during data analysis.

Library Prep Resources

During the sequencing step of the NGS workflow, libraries are loaded onto a flow cell and placed on the sequencer. The clusters of DNA fragments are amplified in a process called cluster generation, resulting in millions of copies of single-stranded DNA. On most Illumina sequencing instruments, clustering occurs automatically.

In a process called sequencing by synthesis (SBS), chemically modified nucleotides bind to the DNA template strand through natural complementarity. Each nucleotide contains a fluorescent tag and a reversible terminator that blocks incorporation of the next base. The fluorescent signal indicates which nucleotide has been added, and the terminator is cleaved so the next base can bind.

After reading the forward DNA strand, the reads are washed away, and the process repeats for the reverse strand. This method is called paired-end sequencing.

After sequencing, the instrument software identifies nucleotides (a process called base calling) and the predicted accuracy of those base calls. During data analysis, you can import your sequencing data into a standard analysis tool or set up your own pipeline.

Today, you can use intuitive data analysis apps to analyze NGS data without bioinformatics training or additional lab staff. These tools provide sequence alignment, variant calling, data visualization, or interpretation.