Studying Functional Genomics with Next-Generation Sequencing

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology is revolutionizing the speed at which we analyze genomic information.  This technology enables researchers to generate massive amounts of sequence information and to undertake large scientific studies that we could never imagine only a few years ago.  Besides plant and animal genome sequencing, Illumina sequencing systems are also being used in many new ways to study functional genomics, gene expression and gene regulation.  We will review the state-of-the-art in using NGS technology for quantification, or "counting" of RNA, and also discuss some of the new genome-wide applications that are being enabled by these technology.