Deoxyribonucleic Acid powder: What's the secret of this "sea gold" powder?
Do you really know Deoxyribonucleic Acid powder ?
A white or yellowish powder labeled "Deoxyribonucleic Acid powder" can often be seen on the reagent rack in the biological laboratory-it looks no different from ordinary chemical reagents, but its price may be several times more expensive than ordinary reagents, and its use is particularly special: it can be used in high-end molecular biology experiments and occasionally appears in the ingredient list of health care products (although controversial). More curious, why is it "salmon essence"? Why not use the DNA of more common plants (such as bananas) or microorganisms (such as Escherichia coli)? What is the unique value of this DNA extracted from fish sperm? Simply put, Deoxyribonucleic Acid is a high-purity powder made of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extracted from sperm cells of salmon (such as Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon), purified and dried. Its core advantages are long DNA chain, high purity, stable structure and stable source (salmon is an important economic fish and testis is a by-product), so it plays an irreplaceable.
Why "salmon essence"? What makes this raw material special?
To understand the value of Deoxyribonucleic Acid powder, , we must first answer a question: Why not use cheaper and more common biological (such as plants or bacteria) DNA? The answer lies in the unique physiological structure of salmon sperm.
1. The "natural advantage" of salmon sperm: DNA is long and pure.
Salmon is a typical egg-laying fish, and the testis of male salmon will store a lot of sperm during the breeding season. These sperm cells are similar to the sperm of other organisms, and their main function is to carry genetic material (DNA) to complete fertilization, so the cells are almost all DNA, and there is almost no interference from other impurities.
More importantly, the DNA of salmon sperm is a typical "eukaryote DNA" (which belongs to eukaryotes like humans), but compared with the DNA of mammals (such as humans), it has several unique characteristics:
Super-long and complete double-stranded structure: the molecular weight of salmon sperm DNA is usually longer than that of prokaryotes such as Escherichia coli (the structure of Escherichia coli DNA is more compact) and less broken, which is suitable for experiments (such as gene cloning or structural research) that require long fragments of DNA;
Protein binding is rare: mammalian DNA is often closely combined with histone to form chromatin (extra steps are needed to remove protein during extraction), while salmon sperm DNA is highly concentrated during sperm maturation, so it is easier to obtain "naked" pure DNA when extracting;
High GC content makes salmon sperm DNA more resistant to degradation in high temperature or chemical treatment, which is suitable for long-term storage or high temperature experiment.
2. Stable source and low cost: efficient utilization of by-products.
Salmon is an important economic fish in the world, and testis is one of the main by-products in salmon processing. In the past, most of these testis were treated as waste, but after extracting the DNA from them, not only waste can be turned into treasure, but also the cost of raw materials can be reduced-compared with extracting DNA from mammalian cells or rare plants, the acquisition of salmon sperm is more sustainable and economical.
3. The industrial extraction technology of Deoxyribonucleic Acid powder is mature.
After decades of optimization, scientists have developed a set of DNA extraction technology specifically for salmon testis: through mechanical crushing (crushing testis tissue), salting out (precipitating DNA with high salt solution), alcohol precipitation (purifying DNA) and other steps, high-purity and high-molecular-weight DNA powder can be obtained efficiently. This industrial production capacity is unmatched by other rare biological DNA.
What fields must Deoxyribonucleic Acid powder be?
It is not an "ordinary product", it plays a key role in many professional fields, especially those scenes that require extremely high DNA quality.
1. The "standard control" of molecular biology In molecular biology experiments, researchers often need to verify whether a technology works properly. At this time, a DNA with "known purity and known structure" is needed as a control-it is the most commonly used "standard". DNA electrophoresis experiment: By observing the migration rate of DNA in agarose gel, the molecular weight of DNA can be judged. Because of its high molecular weight (usually a long fragment of millions of base pairs), Deoxyribonucleic Acid powder can clearly display the electrophoresis effect and help the experimenter to calibrate the electrophoresis conditions; Restriction endonuclease test: When scientists cut DNA with a specific enzyme, they need to confirm the activity of the enzyme. It is often used as a "substrate" to test whether the enzyme is effective because of its rich cleavage sites (and stable structure). Optimization of polymerase chain reaction: template DNA is needed, and its long fragment characteristics can help researchers judge whether PCR system can effectively expand fragments.
2. "Basic raw materials" of genetic engineering and recombinant DNA technology In high-end experiments such as gene cloning and vector construction, scientists need to insert specific DNA fragments into vectors and then introduce them into host cells (such as Escherichia coli) for replication. This process requires: high-purity carrier DNA and inserted fragment DNA (to avoid impurities interfering with digestion or ligation reaction); Stable long DNA fragments (some experiments need complete genome fragments instead of short ones). Because of its high purity and long-chain structure, it is often used as a control template for vector construction; Raw materials for genome library construction; Substrate of transcription/translation system in vitro.
3. "Key excipients" of medicine and diagnostic reagents In some high-end medical research and development, it also has special uses: Vaccine adjuvant research: Early research found that some DNA (especially DNA with long fragment and high GC content) can activate the immune system, so it was used as a model for vaccine adjuvant research; Quality control of nucleic acid detection reagents: In Covid-19 and other nucleic acid detection, it is necessary to ensure that the kit can accurately identify DNA/RNA signals. Because of its stable fluorescence signal, Deoxyribonucleic Acid powder can be used as a reference for negative control or standard curve making. Testing of gene therapy vector: Although ta is rarely used directly in human gene therapy at present, researchers will first use it to test the delivery efficiency of the vector when developing new vectors.
4. "Universal tool" for industry and scientific research Molecular Weight Marker: In DNA electrophoresis experiment, a set of DNA fragments with known length is needed as a "ruler" to measure the size of unknown DNA. Salmon sperm DNA can be cut into fragments with different lengths by restriction endonuclease to make molecular weight standards. Protein -DNA Interaction Research: When scientists study how transcription factors bind to DNA, they often use it as a substrate to observe the binding specificity of protein; Development of nanomaterials and biosensors: Some nanomaterials (such as gold nanoparticles) or sensors need DNA as a "bridge" to connect biomolecules, and its stability makes it an ideal choice.
Future: What new uses will Deoxyribonucleic Acid powder "evolve"?
With the progress of biotechnology, its application may be further expanded:
1. Raw materials of DNA storage technology: Scientists try to use DNA as a "biological hard disk" to store data, and its long-chain stability may make it one of the candidate materials;
2. Template of synthetic biology: By editing the specific sequence of Deoxyribonucleic Acid powder, it is possible to cultivate transgenic fish with new characteristics (such as cultured salmon with stronger disease resistance);
3. Biomarkers of environmental monitoring: Some environmental pollutants (such as heavy metals) will affect the structure of salmon, which may be used as detection indicators of water pollution in the future.
Conclusion:
Deoxyribonucleic Acid powder is not only "refined fish powder", but also the "invisible cornerstone" of science.
From the precise experiment of molecular biology to the underlying technology of pharmaceutical research and development, from the standardized comparison of industrial production to the typical case of resource reuse, it supports many key links of modern life science in a seemingly "unpopular" form. It reminds us that the "small powder" hidden in the by-products of marine life may be the key to open the door to future science and technology. The next time you see this bottle of white powder, you will remember that it is not only the "genetic code" of salmon, but also the "universal tool" for exploring life.
Xi'an Faithful BioTech Co., Ltd. combines cutting-edge production technology with comprehensive quality assurance to provide high-quality Deoxyribonucleic Acid powder that meets international pharmaceutical standards. Our commitment to excellent, competitive prices and technical support makes us the preferred partner of global healthcare providers and researchers. Please contact our technical team in sales11@faithfulbio.com to find out how our products can improve your formula.
This is a list of the names of the core scientific research documents that I referred to and relied on in the process of writing a soft article. These documents provide solid scientific evidence for the efficacy and mechanism mentioned in this paper.
- 《Purification of High-Molecular-Weight DNA from Salmon Testes》
- 《Standard DNA Templates for Molecular Biology Assays》
- 《Utilization of Fish By-Products: Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Salmon Gonads》
- 《Genetic mapping of Y‑chromosomal DNA markers in Pacific Salmon（2001，Genetica）》
- 《Detection of genomic variation underlying phenotypic characteristics of reintroduced Coho salmon（2020）》
- 《Identification and Genomic Localization of Autosomal sdY Locus in a Population of Atlantic Salmon（2023）》
- 《Deoxyribonucleic Acid Sodium Salt (Salmon Milt) Cas 9007‑49‑2》
