Chinese researchers store information in eletrode-based DNA sequences

NANJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers were able to store text information contained in DNA sequences on an electrode and retrieved it accurately.

DNA storage is a technology that encodes biological DNA molecules and stores information on DNA sequences, which can better meet the needs of larger capacity and faster data storage, said Liu Hong, a professor at Southeast University in east China's Jiangsu Province.

With the help of electrochemical method, the research team led by Liu encoded text information into DNA sequences and stored it on an electrode -- a breakthrough in DNA storage technology.

Currently, DNA storage technologies mostly require large equipment and DNA synthesis and sequencing are separated, which leads to a relatively complicated operation, Liu said.

In the team's research results published in the journal Science Advances, an integration of DNA synthesis and sequencing on a single electrode with scalability was reported.

"The instruments and equipment are miniaturized," Liu added.

Also, by attaching DNA sequences to different electrodes, the technology developed by the team has the advantage of being easy and accurate to retrieve information.

"We only need to find the corresponding electrode when a piece of information is needed," Liu said.