Big data management: from hard drives to DNA drives

• Published in: Indian journal of animal sciences 2020-03, Vol.90 (2), p.134-140
• Main Authors: HAMADANI, AMBREEN, GANAI, NAZIR A, FAROOQ, SHAH F, BHAT, BASHARAT A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Big data; Coding; DNA drives; Storage
• ISSN: 0367-8318; 2394-3327
• DOI: 10.56093/ijans.v90i2.98761

Information Communication and Technology is transforming all aspects of modern life and in this digital era, there is a tremendous increase in the amount of data that is being generated every day. The current, conventional storage devices are unable to keep pace with this rapidly growing data. Thus, there is a need to look for alternative storage devices. DNA being exceptional in storage of biological information offers a promising storage capacity. With its unique abilities of dense storage and reliability, it may prove better than all conventional storage devices in near future. The nucleotide bases are present in DNA in a particular sequence representing the coded information. These are the equivalent of binary letters (0 &1). To store data in DNA, binary data is first converted to ternary or quaternary which is then translated into the nucleotide code comprising 4 nucleotide bases (A, C, G, T). A DNA strand is then synthesized as per the code developed. This may either be stored in pools or sequenced back. The nucleotide code is converted back into ternary and subsequently the binary code which is read just like digital data. DNA drives may have a wide variety of applications in information storage and DNA steganography.