Highly Accurate Sequence- and Position-Independent Error Profiling of DNA Synthesis and Sequencing.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Genomics
• Data Storage

Background:

• Reliable DNA data storage requires comprehensive error analysis during DNA synthesis and sequencing.
• Errors in DNA synthesis and sequencing are sequence-dependent and transition-dependent, posing challenges for error rate minimization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a methodology and toolkit for simultaneous delineation and profiling of DNA synthesis and sequencing errors.
• To enable position- and sequence-independent error profiling for DNA data storage applications.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an oligonucleotide library generated from a 10-base-shifted sequence array.
• Employed unique molecular identifiers for individual labeling of oligonucleotides.
• Applied the toolkit for error profiling in general and degenerate-base-augmented DNA data storage.

Main Results:

• Reported base transitional errors in both DNA synthesis and sequencing.
• Demonstrated position- and sequence-independent error profiling capabilities.
• Identified error patterns in standard and augmented DNA data storage systems.

Conclusions:

• The developed methodology and toolkit enable simultaneous and independent profiling of DNA synthesis and sequencing errors.
• The findings contribute to understanding and minimizing errors in DNA data storage.
• This work facilitates the design of DNA sequences with reduced error rates for enhanced data storage reliability.