Applications in Comparative Sequence Analysis

As pointed out earlier, these described methods would, in principle, also be applicable to other detection platforms however, the accuracy and speed of mass spectrometric analysis, combined with its multiplexing capabilities, makes the use of mass spectrometers especially attractive for analyzing a large number of samples. 

Even today, the read length is still far lower than what can be achieved with current state-of-the-art sequencing equipment. Yet, despite recent developments, MALDI-based sequencing using the Sanger concept never found its way into the production units of genome centers. 

All of the methods described in this section require the a priori knowledge of a validated reference sequence, and cannot be used for de-novo sequencing. Nevertheless, they can be applied to experimental questions for DNA-based identification or resequencing, because in these applications an experimentally determined sequence is cross-compared to a known reference sequence. 

Although the race to elucidate the human genome sequence is over, the question must still be asked if there remains a need for high-throughput sequencing methods based on MS. 

Whilst several methods have been developed to achieve the base-specific cleavage of amplification products, the main difference between them relates to the type of analyte, with base-specific cleavage occurring either on DNA or RNA. 

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