Phasing Correction
During the sequencing reaction, each DNA strand in a cluster extends by 1 base per cycle. Phasing and
prephasing occurs when a strand becomes out of phase with the current incorporation cycle.
u Phasing occurs when a base falls behind.
u Prephasing occurs when a base jumps ahead.
Figure 29 Phasing and Prephasing
A Read with a base that is phasing
B Read with a base that is prephasing.
RTA2 corrects the effects of phasing and prephasing, which maximizes the data quality at every cycle
throughout the run.
Base Calling
Base calling determines a base (A, C, G, or T) for every cluster of a given tile at a specific cycle. The
NextSeq 550Dx instrument uses 2-channel sequencing, which requires only 2 images to encode the
data for 4 DNAbases, 1 from the red channel and 1 from the green channel.
Intensities extracted from an image compared to another image result in 4 distinct populations, each
corresponding to a nucleotide. The base calling process determines to which population each cluster
belongs.
Figure 30 Visualization of Cluster Intensities
Document # 1000000041922 v01
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
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NextSeq 550Dx Research Mode Instrument Reference Guide