Array-based DNA diagnostics: Let the revolution begin

Advances in the fabrication of DNA microarrays as well as transformations in detection chemistries have vastly increased the throughput for genotyping, DNA sequencing, and array-based copy number analysis (ABCNA). Rapid changes in technology are not only affecting research but also revolutionizing DNA diagnostics. Here we focus on the application of high-throughput ABCNA and genotyping. Targeted and genome-wide ABCNA has led to the discovery of extensive DNA copy number variation in the population and the delineation of many previously unrecognized submicroscopic chromosomal aberrations (genomic disorders). High-throughput single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping is being widely applied in genome-wide association studies (GWASs) with recent successes in identification of common variants that confer risk for common adult diseases. Future applications of high-throughput genotyping and array-based DNA sequencing technology will undoubtedly involve research and diagnostic analyses of rare mutations and perhaps ultimately enable full individual genome sequencing.