Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies allow the cost-effective sequencing of whole genomes and have expanded the scope of genomics to novel applications, such as the genome-wide characterization of intraspecific polymorphisms and the rapid mapping and identification of point mutations. Next-generation sequencing platforms, such as the Illumina HiSeq2000 platform, are now commercially available at affordable prices and routinely produce an enormous amount of sequence data, but their wide use is often hindered by a lack of knowledge on how to manipulate and process the information produced. In this review, we focus on the strategies that are available to geneticists who wish to incorporate these novel approaches into their research but who are not familiar with the necessary bioinformatic concepts and computational tools. In particular, we comprehensively summarize case studies where the use of NGS technologies has led to the identification of point mutations, a strategy that has been dubbed "mapping-by-sequencing", and review examples from plants and other model species such as Caenorhabditis elegans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Drosophila melanogaster. As these technologies are becoming cheaper and more powerful, their use is also expanding to allow mutation identification in species with larger genomes, such as many crop plants.
Keywords: Mapping-by-sequencing; SHOREmapping; massively parallel sequencing; mutation identification; whole-genome re-sequencing.
© 2014 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.