During the past decade, DNA sequencing output has been mostly dominated by the 
second generation sequencing platforms which are characterized by low cost, high 
throughput and shorter read lengths for example, Illumina. The emergence and 
development of so called third generation sequencing platforms such as PacBio 
has permitted exceptionally long reads (over 20 kb) to be generated. Due to read 
length increases, algorithm improvements and hybrid assembly approaches, the 
concept of one chromosome, one contig and automated finishing of microbial 
genomes is now a realistic and achievable task for many microbial laboratories. 
In this paper, we describe high quality sequence datasets which span three 
generations of sequencing technologies, containing six types of data from four 
NGS platforms and originating from a single microorganism, Clostridium 
autoethanogenum. The dataset reported here will be useful for the scientific 
community to evaluate upcoming NGS platforms, enabling comparison of existing 
and novel bioinformatics approaches and will encourage interest in the 
development of innovative experimental and computational methods for NGS data.