Simultaneous sequencing and quantitation of a nucleic acid analyte in a
sample using the same reagents for both assays is achieved by processing
a sample containing, or suspected of containing the nucleic acid analyte
of interest using a single set of reagents through a plurality of
thermocycles to obtain a mixture of labeled polynucleotides which are
used for the determination of both sequence information about the target
nucleic acid and the amount of target nucleic acid present in the sample.
The fragments are separated on the basis of size, for example by
electrophoresis, and the label associated with the separated fragments is
detected. The positions of the separated nucleic acid fragments are
evaluated to obtain information about the sequence of the target nucleic
acid analyte, and the intensity of a signal derived from the label
associated with one or more of the separated fragments is evaluated to
determine the quantity of the target nucleic acid analyte in the sample.
Only one label is needed for both sequencing and quantitation, although
two or more labels may be used if bidirectional sequencing is
concurrently performed.