diff --git a/src/sam/metainfo.jl b/src/sam/metainfo.jl
index f40e6ae..0c74a90 100644
--- a/src/sam/metainfo.jl
+++ b/src/sam/metainfo.jl
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ Create a SAM metainfo from `str`.
 
 """
 function MetaInfo(str::AbstractString)
-    return MetaInfo(Vector{UInt8}(str))
+    return MetaInfo(collect(UInt8, str))
 end
 
 """
diff --git a/src/sam/record.jl b/src/sam/record.jl
index a61e0df..1f6d675 100644
--- a/src/sam/record.jl
+++ b/src/sam/record.jl
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ function Record(str::AbstractString)
 end
 
 function Base.convert(::Type{Record}, str::AbstractString)
-    return Record(Vector{UInt8}(str))
+    return Record(collect(UInt8, str))
 end
 
 function Base.show(io::IO, record::Record)