DNA sequencing:Basics

Let me start this topic by discussing Basics of DNA sequencing i.e what exactly it is. DNA sequencing is the procedure of determining the exact sequence of nucleotide in a given DNA sample of an organism. DNA can be thought to be a long chain of molecule, naturally encoded with information about the cells. The links of the sequence or chain are called nucleotides. There can be 'four' types of nucleotide linking the chain (more on this later). This nucleotide sequence or pattern if known completely is helpful in preliminary establishment (if not complete) of genetic characteristics of the organism. There are many commonly used methods for doing DNA sequencing (which i will discuss in detail in later posts)with each having its own pros and cons. Out of the many techniques/methods for DNA sequencing the technique developed by Dr. Fredrick Sengar is considered to be the benchmark in this field. Prior to the invention of Dr. Sengar's method (he was awarded Nobel Prize for this invention) the procedures used were tedious and unreliable. This method of DNA sequencing is rapid and reliable and has set the scene for important genomic research which find applications in myriad number of field apart from university biological research like forensic science.
With the advent of PCR, DNA sequencing has become a fast procedure. There are many techniques for doing DNA sequencing, which i'll be discussing on this site however a general procedure using PCR is given here for preliminary understanding. Using PCR DNA sequencing can be carried out by first doing the PCR of the primer (assumed to be designed a-priori)with DNA, nucleotide, second dividing the PCR product in four parts and doing the sequencing reaction for each of them and finally carrying out the Gel-Electrophoresis. Once the DNA sequencing is obtained various software available (in later posts) are used to read and do pos-processing of this sequence. I'll discuss commonly used DNA sequencing techniques and procedures, softwares used and other important aspects in later post. I encourage my audience to leave comments and once again thanks for joining DNA sequencing.