Illumina Coverage Calculator

Formula

To calculate the sequencing coverage:

\[ \text{Coverage} = \frac{\text{Total Base Pairs Sequenced}}{\text{Genome Size}} \]

Where:

Total Base Pairs Sequenced = Read Length × Number of Reads
Genome Size is the size of the genome in base pairs (bp)

What is Sequencing Coverage?

Sequencing coverage refers to the average number of times a nucleotide in the genome is read during a sequencing run. It is a critical parameter in determining the accuracy and completeness of the sequencing data[^1^][^2^].

Example Calculation 1

Let's assume the following values:

Genome Size = 3,000,000,000 bp
Read Length = 150 bp
Number of Reads = 20,000,000

Using the formula:

\[ \text{Total Base Pairs Sequenced} = 150 \times 20,000,000 = 3,000,000,000 \text{ bp} \]

\[ \text{Coverage} = \frac{3,000,000,000}{3,000,000,000} = 1 \text{x} \]

The coverage is 1x.

Example Calculation 2

Let's assume the following values:

Genome Size = 3,000,000,000 bp
Read Length = 100 bp
Number of Reads = 30,000,000

Using the formula:

\[ \text{Total Base Pairs Sequenced} = 100 \times 30,000,000 = 3,000,000,000 \text{ bp} \]

\[ \text{Coverage} = \frac{3,000,000,000}{3,000,000,000} = 1 \text{x} \]

The coverage is 1x.