Long-Term Stability and Integrity of Plasmid-Based DNA Data Storage

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Molecular Biology
• Data Science

Background:

• DNA data storage offers high density and longevity for archival purposes.
• Validating long-term DNA stability and integrity is crucial for reliable data storage applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the long-term stability and integrity of plasmid-based DNA data storage.
• To assess data retrieval accuracy and DNA integrity after prolonged storage under controlled and accelerated aging conditions.

Main Methods:

• Encoding a 2046-word document into DNA sequences using Perl script.
• Synthesizing 22 DNA fragments (400 nucleotides each) and incorporating them into a plasmid vector.
• Conducting long-term stability studies at -20°C for 3 years and accelerated aging studies up to 65°C for 20 days.

Main Results:

• Plasmid DNA stored for 3 years at -20°C showed excellent stability.
• Accelerated aging at 65°C for 20 days (simulating ~20 years) did not significantly affect DNA stability compared to controls.
• Both storage methods maintained functional and nucleotide integrity, enabling error-free data retrieval with 100% accuracy.

Conclusions:

• Plasmid-based DNA data storage demonstrates robust stability and integrity for long-term archival.
• The method allows for reproducible and accountable recovery of original text data.
• This study is the first to examine the long-term stability of plasmid-based DNA data storage.