Methodology

Method:  The NF1-only by NGS involves sequencing as well as deletion/duplication analysis of the entire coding NF1 region plus the alternatively spliced exons 9br, 23a and 48a (60 exons total). The test uses an extensively customized and optimized set of Agilent HaloPlex capture probes, followed by sequencing of overlapping amplicons within the regions of interest using 300bp paired-end Illumina sequencing chemistry. Each coding exon plus ~50bp of flanking intronic sequence are simultaneously sequenced. 5’ and 3’ untranslated sequences are not included. 

The average coverage is >1600x with >98% of the NF1 coding region ≥350x and 99% ≥200x, allowing detection of very low level mosaicism, down to 3-5% variant allele fraction (regions covered by ≥350x and ≥200x respectively) with 95% confidence. Variant and copy number calls are made using a unique bioinformatics pipeline detecting all types of variants including single nucleotide substitutions, indels, and frameshifts caused by deletion/ duplication up to 112bp.