Candidate gene analyses by scanning or brute force fluorescent sequencing: a comparison of DOVAM-S with gel-based and capillary-based sequencing.

For epidemiological and diagnostic applications, detection of virtually all mutations is desired. Herein, blinded analyses of DOVAM-S (Detection Of Virtually All Mutations-SSCP), a robotically enhanced multiplex SSCP method, demonstrate that all of 525 mutations (391 unique) are detected by the method. In addition, the costs of DOVAM-S, gel-based fluorescent sequencing and capillary-based fluorescent sequencing are compared. The relative cost effectiveness of gel-based and capillary-based sequence analysis depends on throughput and whether depreciation and service are considered. DOVAM-S reduces the cost of candidate gene analyses relative to brute force sequencing by about threefold.