VPB 321: Animal Biotechnology (2+1)

Detection on an automated sequencer

DETECTION OF FLUORESCENT SIGNALS BY AUTOMATED SEQUENCER

• The fluorescently labelled fragments that migrate through the gel, are passing a laser beam at the bottom of the gel.
• The laser exites the fluorescent molecule, which sends out light of a distinct color.
• That light is collected and focused by lenses into a spectrograph. Based on the wavelength, the spectrograph separates the light across a CCD camera (charge coupled d evice).
• Each base has its own colour, so the sequencer can detect the order of the bases in the sequenced gene.