(346d) Breaking Barriers to Practical DNA-Based Information Storage Systems

The extreme density of DNA presents a compelling advantage over current information storage media; however, in order to reach practical capacities, new systems for organizing and accessing information are needed. Here we describe a series of systems that address the scalability of DNA storage and that facilitate the automation and miniaturization of future DNA hard drives. We first use chemical handles to selectively extract unique files from a complex database of DNA mimicking 5 TB of data and design and implement a nested file address system that increases the theoretical maximum capacity of DNA storage systems by five orders of magnitude. We also describe a second DNA storage system that through its molecular architecture and enzymatic manipulations is compatible with automation and miniaturization. These advancements enable the development and future scaling of DNA-based data storage systems with modern capacities and file access capabilities.