Comparison of Single Stranded Versus Double Stranded DNA Libraries for Degraded DNA

In biology and medicine today, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) is used to quantify entire genomes and has changed genomics research by providing a low cost, streamlined approach to producing large amounts of genetic data. One of the main steps of NGS is library preparation and these libraries can be double or single stranded. When DNA is degraded or damaged, it can be difficult to create into double stranded libraries and analyze. In this case, single stranded libraries can be prepared when DNA input is low. However, most research on comparing single and double stranded libraries for degraded DNA is limited to ancient DNA. Here we compare SRSLY single stranded DNA libraries with Illumina double stranded DNA libraries using modern degraded DNA samples from deceased unidentified individuals. Our results potentially show that single stranded libraries had a greater concentration of degraded DNA. However, further research must be conducted using qPCR to definitively state that single stranded library preparation was more effective in capturing the modern degraded DNA.