Science and Technology Daily reporter Chen Xi Correspondent Zhao Hui
reporter learned from Tianjin University on September 16 that the school's synthetic biology team innovated the DNA storage algorithm and stored 10 selected Dunhuang murals into DNA. Through accelerated aging experiment verification, the mural information can be stored for thousands of years at room temperature in the laboratory and for twenty thousand years at 9.4℃. This algorithm supports DNA molecules to become one of the most reliable data storage media in the world, and can preserve information on human cultural heritage facing the crisis of aging and damage for thousands of years. The result was recently published in the international journal Nature Communications.
DNA storage Dunhuang murals
The development of human civilization is closely related to storage technology. With the advancement of science and technology, data storage methods are constantly iterative and innovative. Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Yuan Yingjin from Tianjin University has always been committed to the research and development of the next generation of storage technology - DNA storage.
"According to international data companies, the global total data volume will reach an astonishing 175ZB by 2025 (1ZB is about 1021 bytes). Data centers are being built all over the world, and the energy consumption of data centers is amazing. DNA storage is regarded as a highly potential storage technology due to its high storage density and low energy consumption processing, and has become a new opportunity to deal with the challenges of data storage growth." Yuan Yingjin said.
In August 2021, Yuan Yingjin's team made a major breakthrough in DNA storage research. The team designed and synthesized a yeast artificial chromosome with a length of 254,886 base pairs specifically for data storage from scratch. They stored two classic pictures and a video in the artificial chromosomes. They used yeast propagation to achieve stable data replication, and used nanopore sequencing devices to achieve rapid data readout and error-free recovery.
DNA storage technology concept diagram
DNA storage is efficient and low-consumption, but as a chain biological macromolecule, it will face risks such as DNA breakage and degradation when stored in vitro at room temperature, which seriously affects the long-term reliability of information storage and is a key scientific issue that needs to be solved urgently. In this regard, Yuan Yingjin's team designed a sequence reconstruction algorithm based on De Breying's theory to solve problems such as DNA breakage. This algorithm combines greedy path search and cyclic redundant check code to achieve efficient de novo assembly of broken DNA fragments, which in principle supports the long-term reliability of DNA storage.
combined with the sequence reconstruction algorithm (inner code) and the fountain code algorithm (outer code), the team designed and encoded 6.8MB (megabytes) Dunhuang murals and synthesized 210,000 DNA fragments carrying picture information. To ensure the long-term reliability of the data, the team prepared a sample of DNA aqueous solution without any special protection and accelerated sample breakage and degradation at 70°C for up to 10 weeks. More than 80% of the processed DNA fragments have rupture errors. Relying on the designed sequence reconstruction algorithm, more than 96.4% of the fragments can still be accurately assembled and decoded, and then the fountain code solves the problem of missing a small number of fragments. The original Dunhuang mural pictures can still be perfectly restored. According to theoretical estimates, this degree of high temperature damage is equivalent to the natural preservation of 25℃ for a thousand years or 9.4℃ for 20,000 years in the laboratory room temperature.
Sequence reconstruction algorithm designed based on DeBreyingtu graph theory efficiently solves the problems of DNA fracture and degradation
This is another important achievement achieved by the Tianjin University synthetic biology team in the in vitro storage model of DNA information after the breakthrough of the in vivo information storage model based on artificial synthetic chromosomes. (Photo provided by Tianjin University)
Edited by: Liu Yiyang
Reviewed by: Yue Liang
