- DNA sequencing is the process of determining the precise order of nucleotides within a DNA molecule. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases—adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine—in a strand of DNA. The advent of rapid DNA sequencing methods has greatly accelerated biological and medical research and discovery.
- Knowledge of DNA sequences has become indispensable for basic biological research, and in numerous applied fields such as diagnostic, biotechnology, forensic biology, and biological systematics.
- The rapid speed of sequencing attained with modern DNA sequencing technology has been instrumental in the sequencing of complete DNA sequences, or genomes of numerous types and species of life, including the human genome and other complete DNA sequences of many animal, plant, and microbial species.
- It can be used to determine various physical and genetic characteristics of an organism, and also helps in developing disease-resistant, high-yielding plants among others.
- it can be used to find genes, segments of DNA that code for a specific protein or phenotype.
- DNA sequences of different organisms can be compared in order to plot evolutionary relationships both within and between species.