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Genetics & Biotechnology vocabulary · Sequencing and Genomics

Coverage

Meaning in genetics & biotechnology, with examples

/ˈkʌvərɪdʒ/nounCommon term

In genetics & biotechnology, coverage means: The average number of sequencing reads that cover each base of the target region. Higher coverage gives more confident results.

In Turkish: kapsama, kapsama derinliği, okuma derinliği

How it is used

Used in sequencing reports, project budgets and quality control. Coverage is written with an x: '30x', said 'thirty-x'. People talk about mean coverage, minimum coverage and regions with 'low coverage'. 'Sequencing depth' or 'read depth' is used with almost the same meaning.

Example sentences

  1. We sequenced the tumor at 100x coverage and the normal sample at 30x.

  2. Exon 1 has low coverage, so we confirmed the result by Sanger sequencing.

Common collocations

  • mean coverage
  • 30x coverage
  • low coverage
  • coverage depth
  • uniform coverage
  • readIn sequencing, a single DNA sequence that the machine produces from one fragment. A sequencing run produces millions of reads.
  • whole-genome sequencingSequencing nearly all of an organism's DNA, both the genes and the regions between them, in a single test.
  • next-generation sequencingModern technologies that read millions or billions of DNA fragments in parallel, making it fast and cheap to sequence whole genomes, exomes or many genes at once.
  • alignmentArranging DNA, RNA or protein sequences side by side to find where they match, or placing sequencing reads in the right position on a reference genome.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Sequencing and Genomics

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