The graphic shows an example of the application for the DNA letter sequences ATG, AGT, CGT, CTG, TCA, TAC, GAC, GCA, the different colors representing the frequency of the motifs.
MOSLA researchers Hannah F Löchel, Marius Welzel, Georges Hattab, Anne-Christin Hauschild, Dominik Heider just published their paper on “Fractal construction of constrained code words for DNA storage systems”. It was accepted by Nucleic Acids Research, Oxford University Press.
In a statement to the Philipps University Marburg, MOSLA speaker Prof. Dr. Dominik Heider points out: “As far as we know, this is the first algorithm that constructs DNA words that not only obey the constraints described in the scientific literature, but also exclude any undesirable motifs.”
Abstract:
The use of complex biological molecules to solve computational problems is an emerging field at the interface between biology and computer science. There are two main categories in which biological molecules, especially DNA, are investigated as alternatives to silicon-based computer technologies. One is to use DNA as a storage medium, and the other is to use DNA for computing. Both strategies come with certain constraints. In the current study, we present a novel approach derived from chaos game representation for DNA to generate DNA code words that fulfill user-defined constraints, namely GC content, homopolymers, and undesired motifs, and thus, can be used to build codes for reliable DNA storage systems.
Paper
Hannah F Löchel, Marius Welzel, Georges Hattab, Anne-Christin Hauschild, Dominik Heider (2021):
Fractal construction of constrained code words for DNA storage systems.
Nucleic Acids Research, Oxford University Press.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab1209.
Annotations
Graphic: Hannah Franziska Löchel
Find an overview of all MOSLA papers here.
The Philipps University Marburg published an article (written in German), discussing the paper.