Since the birth of computer and networks, fuelled by pervasive computing and ubiquitous connectivity, the amount of data stored and transmitted has exponentially grown through the years. Due to this demand, new solutions for storing data are needed, and one promising media is the DNA. This storage solution provides numerous advantages, which includes the ability to store dense information while achieving long-term stability. However, the question as how the data can be retrieved from a DNA-based archive, still remains.In this paper, we aim to address this question by proposing a new storage solution that relies upon molecular communication, and in particular bacterial nanonetworks. Our solution allows digitally encoded information to be stored into non-motile bacteria, which compose an archival architecture of clusters, and to be later retrieved by engineered motile bacteria, whenever reading operations are needed.We conducted extensive simulations, in order to determine the reliability of data retrieval from non-motile storage clusters, placed at different locations. Aiming to assess the feasibility of our solution, we have also conducted wet lab experiments that show how bacteria nanonetworks can effectively retrieve a simple message, such as "Hello World", by conjugation with non-motile bacteria, and finally mobilize towards a final point.

Aldoxime dehydratase catalyses the conversion of aldoximes to their corresponding nitriles. Utilization of the aldoxime-nitrile metabolising enzyme pathway can facilitate the move towards a greener chemistry. In this work, a real-time PCR assay was developed for the detection of aldoxime dehydratase genes in aldoxime/nitrile metabolising microorganisms which have been purified from environmental sources. A conventional PCR assay was also designed allowing gene confirmation via sequencing. Aldoxime dehydratase genes were identified in 30 microorganisms across 11 genera including some not previously shown to harbour the gene. The assay displayed a limit of detection of 1 pg/μL DNA or 7 CFU/reaction. This real-time PCR assay should prove valuable in the high-throughput screening of micro-organisms for novel aldoxime dehydratase genes towards pharmaceutical and industrial applications.

We present the work towards strengthening the security of DNA-sequencing functionality of future bioinformatics systems against bio-computing attacks. Recent research has shown how using common tools, a perpetrator can synthesize biological material, which upon DNA-analysis opens a cyber-backdoor for the perpetrator to hijack control of a computational resource from the DNA-sequencing pipeline. As DNA analysis finds its way into practical everyday applications, the threat of bio-hacking increases. Our wetlab experiments establish that malicious DNA can be synthesized and inserted into E . coli , a common contaminant. Based on that, we propose a new attack, where a hacker to reach the target hides the DNA with malicious code on common surfaces (e.g., lab coat, bench, rubber glove). We demonstrated that the threat of bio-hacking can be mitigated using dedicated input control techniques similar to those used to counter conventional injection attacks. This article proposes to use genetic similarity of biological samples to identify material that has been generated for bio-hacking. We considered freely available genetic data from 506 mammary, lymphocyte and erythrocyte samples that have a bio-hacking code inserted. During the evaluation we were able to detect up to 95% of malicious DNAs confirming suitability of our method.

No abstract