A paper published in Nature shows how next-generation DNA sequencing can identify DNA mutations in a small cell lung cancer (SCLC) line and the mutational burden associated with tobacco smoking.
The paper, authored by researchers from the Wellcome Trust Cancer Institute and co-authored by Applied Biosystems, demonstrates the potential for next-generation sequencing to provide unprecedented insights into mutational processes, cellular-repair pathways and gene networks associated with cancer development.
Kip Miller, president of genetic systems for Life Technologies, said: 'The publication of this paper emphasises the power that next-generation sequencing, such as Applied Biosystems' Solid System, has to improve science's understanding of disease and it's potential to develop better diagnostics and therapeutic treatment.
'Today's Solid 3 Plus System offers even more capability and is faster, more robust and more economical than the Solid 2.0 System that generated the data in the paper,' he added.
These results were generated at the Sanger Institute using an early version of the Solid System.
Massively parallel sequencing on Applied Biosystems' Solid 2.0 System enabled the researchers to identify all of the mutations in the SCLC line NCI-H209 and compare them with a matched normal cell line.
Data identified several mutation signatures that reflect the wide range of carcinogens in tobacco smoke, which is notable because 90 per cent of patients with SCLC have smoked during their lives.
Today's Solid 3 Plus System is capable of generating more than 60Gb of mappable sequence at an accuracy greater than 99.95 per cent.
