An algorithm for the determination and quantification of components of nucleic acid mixtures based on single sequencing reactions

Background  

Determination and quantification of nucleic acid components in a mixture is usually accomplished by microarray approaches, where the mixtures are hybridized against specific probes. As an alternative, we propose here that a single sequencing reaction from a mixture of nucleic acids holds enough information to potentially distinguish the different components, provided it is known which components can occur in the mixture.