Researchers from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and Agilent Technologies have developed a technique that complements parallel next-generation DNA sequencing.
It achieves this by using custom microarrays to focus on genomic regions of high interest.
The method, published in Nature Protocols (volume 4, number 6), can typically be completed for a human genome in nine or 10 days, inclusive of array captures and one Illumina genome analyser run.
Dr Emily Hodges, CSHL researcher and the first author of the paper, said: 'Targeted resequencing through hybrid selection on custom microarrays is a direct and cost-effective route to address numerous genomic questions, including cancer genetics.
'The convenience of the microarrays, combined with off-the-shelf reagents, represents a resequencing platform that can easily be adapted or reconfigured to address the individual interests of the investigator,' she added.
Dr Andy Bhattacharjee, co-author from Agilent's Life Sciences Division, said: 'The on-array capture method is simple, versatile and robust and will, effectively, address an important need in next-generation-sequencing sample preparation.
'Furthermore, the customisability and simplicity of array design is easily replicated to capture portions of other sequenced eukaryotic genomes,' he added.
