Reading and Writing Digital Information in TNA.

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Molecular Biology
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• DNA is a popular material for low-energy, high-density data storage.
• DNA is vulnerable to environmental damage, including nucleases, oxidation, pH, and temperature fluctuations.
• Protecting stored information from degradation is crucial for long-term archiving.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel molecular chemotype for data archiving.
• To evaluate the stability and recovery accuracy of digital information stored in unnatural genetic frameworks.
• To assess the potential of α-l-threofuranosyl nucleic acid (TNA) as a robust data storage medium.

Main Methods:

• Development of a new molecular chemotype based on α-l-threofuranosyl nucleic acid (TNA).
• Implementation of a genetic coding strategy for storing digital information in TNA oligonucleotides.
• Exposure of TNA and DNA oligonucleotides containing digital data to biological nucleases.
• Assessment of information recovery accuracy after nuclease exposure.

Main Results:

• 23 kilobytes of digital information were successfully stored in DNA-primed TNA oligonucleotides.
• TNA oligonucleotides demonstrated perfect accuracy in data recovery after nuclease exposure.
• Equivalent DNA messages were destroyed by nucleases, highlighting TNA's superior stability.

Conclusions:

• α-l-threofuranosyl nucleic acid (TNA) offers a promising solution for robust data archiving.
• TNA provides enhanced protection against nuclease digestion, safeguarding stored information.
• These findings expand the utility of nucleic acids for low-energy, high-density information storage.