RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Securing the exchange of synthetic genetic constructs using digital signatures
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 750927
DO 10.1101/750927
A1 Jenna E Gallegos
A1 Diptendu M. Kar
A1 Indrakshi Ray
A1 Indrajit Ray
A1 Jean Peccoud
YR 2019
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/09/26/750927.abstract
AB Synthetic biology relies on an ever-growing supply chain of synthetic genetic material. Technologies to secure the exchange of this material are still in their infancy. Solutions proposed thus far have focused on watermarks, a dated security approach that can be used to claim authorship, but is subject to counterfeit, and does not provide any information about the integrity of the genetic material itself. We describe how data encryption and digital signature algorithms can be used to ensure the integrity and authenticity of synthetic genetic constructs. Using a pilot software that generates digital signatures and other encrypted data for plasmids, we demonstrate that we can predictably extract information about the author, the identity, and the integrity of plasmid sequences from sequencing data alone without a reference sequence, all without compromising the function of the plasmids. We discuss how this technology can be improved, applied, and expanded to support the new bioeconomy.