Automatic DNA Sequencers (Slab-Gel Versus Capillary Sequencers)
A variant of the above dideoxy-method was later developed, which allowed the production of automatic sequencers (.e.g. Perkin Elmer's ABI Prism 310 or 3700 Genetic Analyser; Amersham Pharmacia Biotech's MegaBACE 1000 and 4000).
In this new approach,' different fluorescent dyes are tagged either to the oligonucleotide primer (dye primers) in each of the four reaction tubes (blue for A, red for C, etc.), or to each of the four ddNTPs (dye terminators) used in a single reaction tube; when four tubes are used, they are pooled. After the PCR reaction is over, the reaction mixture is subjected to separation of synthesized fragments through electrophoresis. Depending upon the electrophretic system used, whether slab gel electrophoresis or capillary electrophoresis, following two types of automatic sequencing systems have been designed.



