R&D: DNA Storage in Perl

Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering has published an article written by Ui Jin Lee, Bionanotechnology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, 34141, Korea, and Department of Biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Korea, Seulki Hwang, Bionanotechnology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, 34141, Korea, Department of Nanobiotechnology, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, 34113, Korea, Kyoon Eon Kim, Department of Biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Korea, and Moonil Kim, Bionanotechnology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, 34141, Korea, Department of Nanobiotechnology, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, 34113, Korea.

Abstract: “Here we report a simple and flexible method for DNA data storage based on Perl script. For this approach, the text data of the preamble of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” consisting of 2,046 words was encoded into the corresponding 8,148 base pairs of DNA using Perl-based encoding with a hash table. The encoded DNA sequences were then artificially synthesized for storage. The information DNA consisted of a total of 22 chemically synthesized DNA fragments with 400 nucleotides each, which were inserted into a cloning vector to multiply the plasmid DNA. The nucleotide integrity of the data-carrying DNA sequences were ensured under the accelerated aging conditions. Also, an erroneous nucleotide in the information DNA sequences was successfully corrected using the overlap extension PCR method. The stored DNA was read by sequencing, and the resulting DNA sequence information was successfully decoded to convert the DNA records back to the original document. Our results indicate that textual data can be stored in DNA using a simple, easy, and flexible Perl by running a script from the command line.“