Sequencing by Hybridization Arrays

By determining an organism’s DNA sequence, researchers can obtain critical information about its development and physiology, its taxonomic relations, and its susceptibility to disease. There are three distinct methods of acquiring DNA sequence information: sequence-specific DNA degradation, synthesis, and/or separation; sequence-specific DNA hybridization with oligonucleotide probes; and nucleotide chain visualization. This chapter focuses on the second of these processes: the use of sequence-specific hybridization of oligonucleotide probes of known sequence to determine primary DNA structure. Refined over the past decade, such sequencing-by-hybridization (SBH) methods have become important tools in the field of genomics research.