Domestic researchers have developed a new DNA file access technology that overcomes the limitations of existing silicon semiconductor memory, increasing data density to data center levels.
Professor Choi Young-jae and his research team from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, along with Professor Kwon Sung-hoon from Seoul National University and researchers from ATG Lifetech, noted that they developed a method to more precisely locate and manipulate specific files within DNA data. The research results were published online in the international journal Nature Communications on 12th.
As research on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) application technologies is actively conducted worldwide, DNA-based storage methods that are permanent and have low maintenance expenses are garnering attention as next-generation memory technologies. However, existing DNA file access technologies, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), required designing different primers to amplify specific DNA. Primers are composed of a minimum of 20 bases and serve to locate specific sections during the DNA replication or amplification process. As the number of types of DNA files that need to be distinguished increases, the expense for designing and synthesizing primers to differentiate them increases exponentially.
The research team designed a system that allows searching for DNA files without primers by using barcodes at the single base level. In the existing PCR method, a separate pair of primers had to be designed and synthesized for each DNA file, but this technology enables access to specific DNA files using only four bases. For example, a barcode of four bases can distinguish 256 types of DNA files, while a barcode made of eight bases can distinguish a total of 65,536 types of DNA files. Using the typical primer length of 20 bases theoretically allows for the classification of 41.5 billion files.
By applying the developed method, expenses were reduced by 10 times compared to the existing PCR method, and access efficiency improved by more than three times. Additionally, the number of distinguishable DNA files increased by at least 74 million times, and it also became possible to replace files, such as removing specific DNA files and inserting new DNA files.
Professor Choi Young-jae said, "This research presents a new methodology for accessing specific DNA files without primers, overcoming the limitations of the existing PCR method by applying a hierarchical barcode system. I anticipate that optimizing barcode design and combining it with automated systems will serve as an important breakthrough for commercializing DNA-based storage systems as next-generation DNA file access technology."
References
Nature Communications (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56856-0