The Sioux Nation Podcast
The Sioux Nation Podcast
SDS-PAGE and Protease Efficiency
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This episode of the Sioux Nation Podcast features Dr. Seth Monegue, Technical Service Manager for CBS Bio Platforms, who explains how SDS-PAGE can be used to determine protease efficiency.
Welcome back to the Sum Nation Podcast, where we explore the story, science, and challenges shaping the livestock industry today. I'm your host, Jill Funky. Joining us is Seth Montague, Technical Services Manager for CBS Bio Platforms. Thank you for returning to our show.
SPEAKER_00Hey, Jill. Glad to be back.
SPEAKER_01Now, this episode will help us better understand SDS Page and how it is used as a tool to determine protease efficiency. So, Seth, are you ready to dive in?
SPEAKER_00Yep, let's go.
SPEAKER_01All right. Well, first let's start with a refresher of the definition of a protease.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so protease is a specialized enzyme, and what they do is they essentially act like molecular scissors, so to say, to break down proteins into smaller peptides and amino acids. So breaking them down into their smallest forms. In animal nutrition, adding these two feeds helps livestock digest protein sources much more efficiently. One way to think about this is protease improves the feeding value of ingredients, especially those that we would uh consider poor value feeding ingredients.
SPEAKER_01So could you now define SDS Page for our listeners?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so SDS Page is an acronym, and you can break that down into two sections. SDS stands for sodium dodecal sulfate, and that's a detergent. And the second part of that, the page part, is polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. So we're essentially using a technique with a detergent to break down proteins and then run them through a gel using an electrical current. And what that does is it sort the remaining parts, and like I mentioned, peptides and amino acids by their size, and it allows you to sort them from largest to smallest.
SPEAKER_01So can you tell me, and remember, a lot of us don't have your knowledge, so I know you're going to try to keep it on like my level, but how does it work?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so really just to break it down into just a sentence on what this actually does is so like I said, there's the SDS part, which is the detergent, it unfolds proteins, cuts them in a negative charge, and you basically apply the resulting liquid into this gel. You turn on an electrical current, like turning on a light switch, and then the proteins will move down that gel based on size. And what it does is, and this isn't great for a podcast, but what it's a gives you a visual of these distinct bands and a specific color, and each one of those bands represents a different sized protein.
SPEAKER_01So, Seth, what kind of results are we looking at? What are we after? What would we consider to be the results that we're after?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so what we're really looking for are clear visual shifts in the gel of each one of those distinct protein bands. Large intact feed proteins are going to disappear as the protease breaks them down. So those bands would just disappear, or maybe sometimes the terminology calls it a smear. It looks like it's just smearing that band further down the gel. And what that'll do is it shows the shift from larger proteins to smaller proteins. And by seeing this change in band location and thickness, it's demonstrating the ability of the protease that you're evaluating, showing that it's doing its job and essentially pre-digesting the proteins in the feed stuff that you've applied it to.
SPEAKER_01So walk me through what this means to the producer and what species of livestock would be affected by this.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, especially where you know enzymes have more and more become commonplace as ingredients. Um, I still think there's some doubt when you you add it to you know a complete feed. There's a lot of ingredients that go into that. And sometimes it's really difficult to validate or understand, you know, what you're adding in there, especially something like a feed additive, like an enzyme, if it's working. So we're using this as a validation method to show which proteins each specific protease can break down. And the resulting data can be used as a comparison tool between those proteases and their individual effects on specific feed ingredients. So, you know, we can say, hey, you know, we've we've heard protease X is really good against wheat, barley, and rye, and protease B is good against corn and soy. And so we can actually use this technique to validate that and show you if that's true or not. So you take this data, and what you do is it helps producers make an informed decision on which proteaste is best for them based on the ingredients they have available. And the nice thing about this is it's species agnostic. I mean, this is great for livestock and poultry.
SPEAKER_01So, Seth, how is it incorporated by a producer to realize, like you'd said, the digestibility and the growth performance improvements?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so our goal is for SDS Page and the information that we generate on proteases using this technique for producers to be able to use this data and gain some insights in formulating diets, giving them confidence that you know, if they add a feed additive such as a protease to the feed, it's gonna give them a couple options. One of them being um lowering crude protein, and that's just a diet cost savings tool. And the second one being being able to improve what we would typically consider low-digestible or low-value feed stuffs and get a little bit more value out of that. And so, therefore, since we're improving digestibility, the animal's gonna grow faster and it's gonna waste fewer nutrients.
SPEAKER_01So we're talking about all of the advantages or their potential, but is there any downside? Could there be any pitfalls to this technology?
SPEAKER_00As far as identifying whether the protease actually works or not, there's no downside. One of the biggest issues is this is purely a qualitative tool. It doesn't give us anything qualitatively. And what I mean by that is I get a lot of questions on okay, so you're validating and you're showing us that the protease is actually effective against these ingredients. We're breaking down the main storage proteins to smaller peptides and amino acids, which is going to be more available to the animal. And then the number one question is well, how much? Is this a 50% degradation? Is this a 25%? Are we improving amino acids by 30%, 2%? Um, and unfortunately, right now, as far as SDS page goes, that's not a tool that actually gives you uh quantitative data. But there are other ways to do that. Um, and that's something that we're working on next, is being able to take everything that ends up running out of those gels, apply a turbidity method to it, and then that's gonna end up giving us actual quantitative data.
SPEAKER_01Which you could share then on a subsequent podcast, right?
SPEAKER_00I could, yes. As soon as we get that done and we get it validated, that's something that we could also discuss.
SPEAKER_01Perfect. I think we're gonna have listeners interested. So if they wanted to find more information, where would you direct them?
SPEAKER_00We've posted a lot of the initial data that we've gained from this on our social medias. So that'd be the first place to look. Um, if there's something specific that listeners want to know about, uh the best way is to just contact us through our website at CBSioplatforms.com. Send us a note, and we'll get back to you with more details.
SPEAKER_01That sounds great. Well, thanks, Seth. I should call you Dr. Seth, my favorite PhD nutritionist, for the lesson on SDS page and what it means for livestock nutrition. And I'd like to thank our listeners for tuning in. We'll catch you next time with more guests and topics related to the current ag climate.