Dynamic DNA-based information storage

Abstract

Technological leaps are often driven by key innovations that transform the underlying architectures of systems. Current DNA storage systems largely rely on polymerase chain reaction, which broadly informs how information is encoded, databases are organized, and files are accessed. Here we show that a hybrid 'toehold' DNA structure can unlock a fundamentally different, dynamic DNA-based information storage system architecture with broad advantages.This innovation increases theoretical storage densities and capacities by eliminating non-specific DNA-DNA interactions common in PCR and increasing the encodable sequence space. It also provides a physical handle with which to implement a range of in-storage file operations. Finally, it reads files non-destructively by harnessing the natural role of transcription in accessing information from DNA. This simple but powerful toehold structure lays the foundation for an information storage architecture with versatile capabilities.

Nanopore-Based DNA Hard Drives for Rewritable and Secure Data Storage

“…Encryption in the physical keys using the unique characteristics of DNA molecules will allow for secure storage, as the information is only retrievable with the correct key. , The flexibility of DNA as a functional material based on Watson–Crick base pairing opens pathways to address the above questions. Strategies , using DNA nanotechnology were put forward to make full use of the material‘s advantage based on base pairing and toehold mediated strand displacement. − For instance, employing existing native DNA strands as a carrier for information provides alternative routes to data storage in direct DNA sequence, including the DNA punch card method or the catalog DNA method . Similarly, data can also be stored in the 3D structures of designed DNA objects, ,, opening a new route with the potential of convenient writing and reading as an alternative to the data storage in the DNA sequence.…”

“…16,17 The flexibility of DNA as a functional material based on Watson−Crick base pairing opens pathways to address the above questions. Strategies 18,19 using DNA nanotechnology were put forward to make full use of the material's advantage based on base pairing and toehold mediated strand displacement. 20−22 For instance, employing existing native DNA strands as a carrier for information provides alternative routes to data storage in direct DNA sequence, including the DNA punch card method 23 or the catalog DNA method.…”