DNA Data Storage Architecture via Ligation of Dynamic DNA Bytes

Lijia Jia; Yue Shi; Jing Yang; Shangzhe Li; Wenjing Yang; Wei Li; Mancang Zhang; Quanshun Li; Yifei Zhang; Xiaolin Wang; Lin Li; Bo Duan; Dongbo Bu; Fengqian Chen; Haizhou Liu; Huaiyi Yang; Yongyong Shi; Di Liu

doi:10.1002/smtd.202502001

Synthetic BiologySmall MethodsMar 31, 2026

Peer-reviewed journal article

DNA Data Storage Architecture via Ligation of Dynamic DNA Bytes

Lijia Jia iD, Yue Shi iD, Jing Yang, Shangzhe Li, Wenjing Yang iD, Wei Li, Mancang Zhang iD, Quanshun Li iD, Yifei Zhang, Xiaolin Wang, Lin Li iD, Bo Duan iD, Dongbo Bu iD, Fengqian Chen iD, Haizhou Liu, Huaiyi Yang iD, Yongyong Shi iD, Di Liu iD

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Abstract

The explosive growth of digital data is overwhelming conventional storage media, creating an urgent need for more efficient solutions. DNA offers immense potential for digital data storage, yet most systems remain static and archival. Here, we present a modular DNA storage architecture based on dynamic DNA bytes (DynaBytes)-- pre-fabricated DNA segments that can be ligated into reconfigurable information units. Utilizing core, functional and control DynaBytes, we stored 210,776 bits (26,347 bytes) of digital information organized within a file-system, and demonstrated CRUD (Create-Read-Update-Delete)-like operations, hierarchical access and nanopore-based realtime retrieval. Robust data recovery was achieved under [~]100x error-prone sequencing using streamlined error correction and fuzzy decoding. By relying on in vitro ligation of standardized components, DynaBytes reduces cost, scales efficiently, and allows interactive, rewritable storage. These features advance DNA storage beyond passive archiving toward a reconfigurable framework, opening new possibilities for dynamic, practical and large-scale DNA-based data systems.