Improved DNA data storage method uses epigenetic modifications

A new way to store information in DNA has been discovered.

The new technique creates a DNA strand that stores data like a computer, using a simple binary coding system: marked DNA represents 1s, and unmarked DNA represents 0s. The information can then be read using special 'sequencers' that detect these modifications.

The breakthrough came from studying how our bodies naturally use DNA. 'Every cell in our bodies has the same genome sequence, but genetic programming comes from modifications to DNA. If life can do this, we can do this,' said Dr Long Qian, a computational biologist at Peking University, Beijing, China, and an author of the study now published in Nature.

DNA can hold a huge amount of information, making it a promising alternative to traditional hard drives and other electronic storage devices. DNA is incredibly compact and dense – a single gram (about the weight of a paperclip) can store data for over ten million high-definition videos. It is also very durable and can preserve information for thousands of years.

Until now, storing data in DNA required building new DNA strands from scratch – an expensive and time-consuming process that only experts could do. To make the process cheaper and faster, scientists at Peking University were inspired by the epigenome and copied the natural process of methylation that our bodies use to mark DNA (see BioNews 791). In our bodies, cells attach small chemical markers (eg, methyl groups) to DNA to indicate which genes should be active. This process allows cells 'modify DNA without changing the underlying sequence, allowing them to store additional layers of regulatory information stably over time,' said Dr Qian.

Using this technique, researchers successfully encoded and retrieved images, including a tiger rubbing from the Han dynasty and a photorealistic print of a panda.

To test how practical this method could be, the researchers invited 60 students from various backgrounds to try it themselves. The students used a web server to convert their text into a format that could be stored in DNA, then used a simple laboratory kit to mark the DNA. When they decoded the messages later, the images were reproduced with 97 percent accuracy or more. Even when small errors occurred, they could be fixed using artificial intelligence.

'Everyone is storing data every day, and so to compete with traditional data storage technologies, DNA methods need to be usable by the everyday person,' noted Dr Jeff Nivala, co-director of the Molecular Information Systems Lab at the University of Washington. 'This is still an early demonstration of going toward non-experts, but I think it's pretty unique they're able to do it.'

The experiment indicates that DNA storage could one day be used for long-term storage of important information like medical records, financial reports, or scientific data.