Comparative analysis of short- and long-read sequencing depths for transcriptomes experiments

The analysis of RNA transcripts via sequencing allows for gene expression comparison across cells and is critical in neuroscience research efforts to better understand complex processes such as aging and neurodegenerative disease.

Acutely aware that the scope of research projects is often dictated by funding therefore making efficiency critical in selecting RNA sequencing methods, Bernardo Haberle (Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, USA) compared 110 million short-reads in 55 million samples of Human post-mortem frontal cortex brain tissue. This analysis showed that by using a PromethION, 1/3 of the number of reads were required to obtain the same level of coverage.