DNA has been the predominant information storage medium for biology and holds great promise as a next-generation high-density data medium in the digital era. Currently, the vast majority of DNA-based data storage approaches rely on in vitro DNA synthesis. As such, there are limited methods to encode digital data into the chromosomes of living cells in a single step. Here, we describe a new electrogenetic framework for direct storage of digital data in living cells. Using an engineered redox-responsive CRISPR adaptation system, we encoded binary data in 3-bit units into CRISPR arrays of bacterial cells by electrical stimulation. We demonstrate multiplex data encoding into barcoded cell populations to yield meaningful information storage and capacity up to 72 bits, which can be maintained over many generations in natural open environments. This work establishes a direct digital-to-biological data storage framework and advances our capacity for information exchange between silicon- and carbon-based entities.

DNA一直是生物学的主要信息存储介质，并且作为数字时代的下一代高密度数据介质具有很大的潜力。目前，绝大多数基于 DNA 的数据存储方法依赖于体外 DNA 合成。因此，在一个步骤中将数字数据编码到活细胞染色体中的方法有限。在这里，我们描述了一种新的电遗传框架，用于在活细胞中直接存储数字数据。使用工程化的氧化还原响应 CRISPR 适应系统，我们通过电刺激将 3 位单位的二进制数据编码到细菌细胞的 CRISPR 阵列中。我们展示了将多路数据编码到带条形码的细胞群中，以产生有意义的信息存储和高达 72 位的容量，这可以在自然开放环境中保持多代。