Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42098145›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

ZAT-DNA enables DNA data storage with molecular-layer non-replicability.

Lifu Song, Gaoli Wang, Yifeng Wei, Yingjie Huang, Yunkun Zhang, Xuesong Liu, Zhiguang Yuchi, Yingjin Yuan, Yunzi Luo, Yan Zhang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Lifu Song *State Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1092-4568
Gaoli Wang *State Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.
Yifeng WeiSingapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.
Yingjie HuangTianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, China.
Yunkun ZhangBeijing Huiyuan Technology Co. Ltd. 16th Floor, Zhongguancun SOHO, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
Xuesong LiuTianjin Biotechnology Innovation and Incubation Center, Tianjin, China.
Zhiguang YuchiSchool of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2595-9106
Yingjin YuanState Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China. yjyuan@tju.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0553-0089
Yunzi LuoState Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China. yunzi.luo@tju.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5860-6350
Yan ZhangFrontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China. yan.zhang@tju.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2031-0631

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Deoxyribonucleic acid provides unmatched information density and longevity for data storage, yet its easy amplification by polymerase chain reaction enables unauthorized replication at negligible cost. We introduce ZAT-DNA, which encodes information in patterns of canonical adenine and noncanonical 2-aminoadenine. As DNA polymerases cannot distinguish adenine from 2-aminoadenine, polymerase-based amplification erases these patterns, enforcing molecular-layer non-replicability intrinsic to the base-pairing ambiguity. We validate ZAT-DNA for secure key storage, demonstrating error-free encoding, storage, and high-fidelity nanopore retrieval of 32-bit and 64-bit cryptographic keys. ZAT-DNA blocks polymerase-based copying and protects non-fungible tokens by preventing functional duplication. For larger datasets, we present a hybrid "Babel-DNA" architecture: multiple encrypted images are co-encoded in a single regular DNA pool, with each selectively decryptable only via its cognate, non-replicable ZAT-DNA key. This provides a practical framework for molecular access control, secure DNA-encoded databases, and scarce molecular tokens.

Indexed as

DNAInformation Storage and RetrievalAdenineDNA-Directed DNA PolymeraseNanoporesAdenineDNADNA-Directed DNA Polymerase

Identifiers

PMID42098145
PMCPMC13369860

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.