Next-Generation and Third-Generation Sequencing in Life Sciences: Methods and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and third-generation sequencing (TGS) technologies have transformed modern life sciences by enabling high-throughput, comprehensive, and increasingly precise characterization of genomes, transcriptomes, epigenomes, and complex microbial communities. Continuous improvements in sequencing chemistry, read length, accuracy, throughput, and computational analysis are expanding the range of biological questions that can be addressed and are accelerating the transition from descriptive studies toward integrative and functional approaches. 

At the same time, the growing diversity of sequencing platforms and applications creates new methodological and analytical challenges. Appropriate experimental design, library preparation, sequencing strategy, quality control, bioinformatic processing, data integration, and biological interpretation are essential for generating reliable and reproducible results. Combining short-read and long-read technologies further creates opportunities to resolve complex genomic regions, characterize structural variation, improve de novo assemblies, investigate transcript isoforms, and obtain a more complete understanding of biological systems.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances in next-generation and third-generation sequencing methods and their applications across the life sciences. We invite original research articles, reviews, methodological studies, and computational approaches demonstrating the development, optimization, validation, or application of sequencing technologies in basic, applied, environmental, agricultural, and biotechnological research.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Next-generation and third-generation sequencing technologies;
• Short-read and long-read sequencing approaches;
• Whole-genome sequencing;
• Targeted sequencing and amplicon sequencing;
• RNA sequencing and transcriptomics;
• Metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and microbiome research;
• De novo genome assembly and genome annotation;
• Hybrid sequencing and integration of short- and long-read data;
• Sequencing applications in microbial and plant research;
• Environmental and agricultural applications of sequencing technologies;
• Bioinformatic pipelines, algorithms, and computational tools for sequencing data;
• Quality control, benchmarking, standardization, and reproducibility of sequencing workflows;
• Development and optimization of library preparation and sequencing protocols;
• Integration of sequencing data with other omics technologies;
• Emerging sequencing technologies and novel applications.

Dr. Anna Marzec-Grządziel
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.