Abstract

Recent years have witnessed the advent and rapid development of massive sequencing technology, commonly known as Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). This technology allows for rapid, massive and inexpensive sequencing of genome regions or entire genomes, making possible genomic studies of non-model organisms and has seen great progress in metagenomic studies. The promise of this information-rich era is to expand the molecular approach of ecological and evolutionary studies towards urgent issues related with conservation and management of biological diversity in the face of global change. Among the current NGS technologies, there are fundamental differences that impact DNA sequence accuracy, length and range of applications. Key differences among platforms are the procedure for library preparation (when needed) and the sequencing process itself (e.g., pyrosequencing, synthesis). In this review we describe the technical details of commercially available platforms for massive sequencing. We discuss their potential applications for specific biodiversity analyses, from model to non-model organisms, from Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs) to entire genome analysis and metagenomic approaches of microbial communities, including possible taxonomic, phylogenetic, conservation biology and ecosystem applications of NGS methods in the study of biodiversity. We also provide a to-date estimation of the associated costs for each approach and the computational implications for the analyses of sequences derived from these platforms.