All glossary terms

NGS basics

Indexes

Indexes are unique molecular barcodes added to each sample during library prep so that many samples can be pooled and sequenced together.

What are indexes in NGS?

Without them, reads from a pooled run could not be traced back to the sample they came from. Index choice also affects how evenly reads are distributed across a pool.

Sequencing

Sequencing is the process of reading the nucleotide order (A, T, C, G) of DNA or RNA fragments.

RNA Integrity Number (RIN)

The RNA Integrity Number (RIN) is a numerical score, from 1 to 10, used to rate the quality of an RNA sample.

Read Depth

Read depth is the total number of individual sequence reads generated for a given sample or region.

Primers

Primers are short single-stranded sequences that bind a DNA template and act as the starting point for DNA synthesis.

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique that copies a specific DNA sequence exponentially through repeated temperature cycles.

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)

Next generation sequencing (NGS) is a high-throughput technology that reads millions of DNA or RNA fragments in parallel.