DNA archival storage, a bottom up approach

Abstract

DNA is an attractive medium for storage of digital data in the cloud, owing to a form factor several orders of magnitude smaller than any other. Key to storing binary data in synthetic in DNA is the translation between the binary representation of digital data to the quaternary domain of DNA. This translation must adhere to constraints imposed by the synthesis and sequencing processes used to write and read respectively. A technological advance in either process changes the constraints and renders current encoding schemes obsolete. In this paper we present a recipe for taking constraints and producing an appropriate encoding scheme. Such a mechanism allows moving the encoding in lockstep with the technological advances in the underlying processes. We further show a method to understand trade-offs in constraints for a given overhead of bits needed to meet such constraints.