Scaling up DNA Data Storage

Humanity is generating digital data at an ever-increasing rate. Unfortunately, our capability to manufacture conventional storage will be unable to keep pace in the near future. To address the shortfall, many alternative storage media are being explored. Of these media, synthetic DNA stands out as an appealing alternative for potential density and durability. Indeed, DNA has 10⁷ times more storage potential than magnetic tape, the densest storage medium in use today, and has the potential to store data for millennia. Furthermore, since DNA stores the genetic code for all known life on earth, its relevance and humanity’s interest in reading DNA is unlikely to diminish. Here we present an end-to-end approach to data storage with random access in DNA. We have encoded 35 files totaling 200 MB of data in 13 million synthetic oligonucleotides. After encoding, each file was separately isolated using PCR and then sequenced. The sequencing data was then successfully decoded with zero bit errors. Currently, we are exploring methods for full automation of the end-to-end process. Our results demonstrate an order of magnitude increase the amount of data stored in synthetic DNA and lay foundations for future storage systems.