More tricks with next-generation DNA sequencing: DNA barcodes gone wild

In recent years, DNA barcoding has enabled scientists to

carry out highly parallel experiments, in which many different types of cells can be tested in the same tube. This has been further enabled by next-generation DNA sequencing which can efficiently count barcodes and 'read out' the results. However, the number of experiments that can be combined in the same tube has been limited to the number of barcoded cell types. Allowing barcodes to fuse together inside cells means scientists can now break that barrier. The new technology results in a 10-fold increased rate of discovery for the same price.

"Using DNA barcodes for multiplex experiments has been an extremely powerful technology," said Frederick (Fritz) Roth, senior author on the study who is cross-appointed at Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute and Donnelly Centre, and is also a Canada Excellence Research Chair and Senior Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. "However it has been one-dimensional, in the sense that we only got to read one experiment per barcode. By combining barcodes inside cells, we can dramatically increase the number of experiments we can combine together in a single test tube"

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2016-04-next-generation-dna-sequencing-barcodes-wild.html#jCp