The encoded program was reconstructed from the resulting seedlings with 100% accuracy by showing “Hello World” on the computer screen.
Their approach demonstrated that artificially encoded data can be stored and multiplied within plants without affecting their vigor and fertility.
It is inherent in progeny and authentically reproducible while the reduced metabolism of the seeds provides an additional protection for encoded DNA archives.
Insertion of short computer programs into plants could also serve to provide a detailed description of a given variety, since the need for such labeling has already been expressed.
DNA protected within a seed of a living plant could be easy to access when hand-held readers will become a reality.