Polyamine Composition Research Articles

Changes in polyamines during embryonic development of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar

1. 1. Polyamine composition of eggs and alevins from cultured and wild Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, was compared during early development. 2. 2. Eggs collected from wild stock had higher amounts of bound and free putrescine, spermidine and spermine than those collected from cultured stock. 3. 3. Cadaverine was present in bound form in cultured and wild stocks before and after fertilization, respectively. However, free cadaverine was detected in both stocks throughout development. 4. 4. Atlantic salmon embryos and alevins can synthesize polyamines which could be associated with their growth and development.

Antioxidants and growth regulators counter the effects of O 3 and SO 2 in crop plants

Antioxidant compounds such as ethylenediurea (EDU); N-[2-(2-oxo-1-imidazolidinyl) ethyl]- N′-phenylurea have been found to be effective in suppressing O 3-induced leaf injury. Gibberellic acid (GA) inhibitors such as paclobutrazol, tetcyclaics and flurprimidol suppress visible SO 2-induced injury. Antioxidant compounds are relatively ineffective in protecting plants from SO 2-induced injury, while GA inhibitors are ineffective in protecting plants from O 3 injury. EDU and GA inhibitors do not alter the stomatal behavior, however they can induce resistance to air pollutants stress. Furthermore, EDU and paclobutrazol (PP 333) do not alter foliar membrane lipid composition. EDU does not alter polyamine composition. This suggests that the mechanism of plant tolerance to air pollutant exposure is probably biochemical rather than biophysical. Free radical scavenging enzymes or endogenous antioxidant compounds are more important than stomatal restriction of pollutant diffusion to the sensitive leaf mesophyll sites.

Improved plant regeneration in maize callus cultures after pretreatment with dl-alpha-difluoromethylarginine

The influence of a three-month-long pretreatment with dl-alpha-difluoromethylarginine (DFMA), an irreversible suicide inhibitor of arginine decarboxylase activity (ADC; EC 4.1.1.19), on plant regeneration, protein and polyamine (PA) composition of Zea mays callus cultures has been investigated. A four-fold increase in the number of regenerated plants is obtained after pretreatment with 0.5 mM DFMA. In addition, the regeneration frequency increases 3-fold in the treated calluses and the plants regenerated from such cultures are more developed than the untreated controls. The data obtained on protein and PA contents suggest that a senescence effect is exerted on the calluses grown in the presence of DFMA. However, after DFMA removal a rejuvenation effect occurs on the calluses that may explain the improvement of morphogenic capacity. This study indicates that DFMA pretreatment can be used to increase regeneration efficiency from maize callus cultures.

Polyamine Changes during in vitro Morphogenesis of Asparagus Cloning

Summary Putrescine and spermidine are the most represented free polyamines in asparagus tissues. The variability in polyamine composition in relation to genotype and in vitro plant morphogenesis was observed. Higher quantities of putrescine and spermidine in some genotypes promoted in vitro initiation of buds and formation of crowns. A determined level of spermidine may be considered as a threshold level that is necessary to reach the micropropagation stage of asparagus culture.

Ornithine decarboxylase activity and polyamine content in adenocarcinomas of human stomach and large intestine

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity and differential polyamine composition have been studied in macroscopically normal mucosa, adjacent mucosa, and neoplastic tissue of 95 patients with adenocarcinomas of stomach and large intestine. In tumors, we found increased ODC activity and polyamine content as compared with surrounding mucosa. ODC activity in macroscopically normal tissue of patients with tumors of stomach and large intestine increased as the disease progressed. An inverse relationship was observed between ODC activity in adenocarcinomas and differentiation.

Further study on polyamine compositions in Vibrionaceae

It has previously been reported that norspermidine, one of the unusual polyamines, is present in Vibrio species. To expand this observation, the cellular polyamine compositions of additional species and strains in the family Vibrionaceae (Vibrio, Photobacterium, Listonella, and Shewanella) as well as Aeromonas species and Plesiomonas shigelloides, which have been proposed to be excluded from Vibrionacea, were determined by using gas-liquid chromatography. Some Vibrio species previously reported were reexamined under the same conditions, and their results are included in this report. Norspermidine was detected as a major triamine in 23 of 24 Vibrio species, all of 4 Listonella species, and 3 of 5 Photobacterium species. Vibrio costicola, Photobacterium fischeri, and Photobacterium phosphoreum contained no norspermidine. Listonella species were indistinguishable from Vibrio species in their polyamine profiles. However, Schewanella putrefaciens ATCC 8071, formerly allocated in the genus Alteromonas, contained no norspermidine, and its polyamine profile was similar to those of four Aeromonas species, in which putrescine was exclusively found. Plesiomonas shigelloides was very similar to Escherichia coli in that putrescine and spermidine were predominant polyamines. Our data indicate that the occurrence of norspermidine may be very helpful as a generic marker in identification and classification of Vibrio and Listonella species. A gas-liquid chromatographic method with a nitrogen-selective detector was presented for rapid and sensitive detection of cellular norspermidine.

Distribution of polyamines in representative species of archaebacteria

Summary Polyamine concentrations in about 50 archaebacteria and in about 20 eubacteria were determined. No specific polyamine composition was found to be typical of all archaebacteria investigated. However, polyamine patterns were shown to be useful for their taxonomic evaluation.

Variations in cellular polyamine compositions and contents of Vibrio species during growth in media with various NaCl concentrations.

In order to obtain insight into the possible physiological significance of norspermidine[NH2(CH2)3NH(CH2)3NH2], which is characteristically present in the genus Vibrio, we have determined the cellular polyamine contents of Vibrio alginolyticus and V. parahaemolyticus during growth in media with various NaCl concentrations. Regardless of the medium NaCl concentration, the norspermidine content, on a per mg of protein basis, was highest in the early exponential phase and then declined with prolonged cultivation, whereas there was only a slight chage in spermidine, the content of which was much lower than that of norspermidine throughout growth. Moreover, at higher NaCl concentrations, norspermidine was the major polyamine throughout growth. When the cells were suddenly exposed to media with various NaCl concentrations, the content of norspermidine increased immediately or after an initial precipitous drop with the onset of growth, but that of spermidine did not change markedly. The putrescine content of these vibrios was substantially elevated only when the cells were grown in or transferred to media with lower NaCl concentration. This pattern of polyamines suggests that, instead of spermidine, norspermidine might play some important role(s) in supporting growth, whereas putrescine may be mainly involved in maintaining cellular ionic or osmotic balance against a lower NaCl environment.

Polyamines in halophilic archaebacteria

The distribution of polyamines has been studied in halophilic archaebacteria drawn from three distinct taxonomic groups. All the strains examined possessed putrescine, spermidine and spermine. The unusual polyamines sym-nor-spermidine and sym-nor-spermine were detected in several strains. Caldopentamine and thermospermine were also present in two strains. There was no evidence that polyamine composition would serve as a useful taxonomic marker in halophilic archaebacteria.

Distinct Difference in the Polyamine Compositions of Bryophyta and Pteridophyta1

Polyamine contents of various species of plants and fungi including Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Lichenobionta were determined by the combination of six chromatographic techniques. Polyamines examined included putrescine, spermidine, spermine, 1,3-diaminopropane (diaminopropane), sym-norspermidine (norspermidine), sym-norspermine (norspermine), thermospermine, caldopentamine, homocaldopentamine, cadaverine, aminopropylcadaverine, sym-homospermidine (homospermidine), agmatine, and canavalmine. In addition to the widely occurring polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine), the "unusual" polyamines norspermidine and norspermine were found to be widely distributed in Bryophyta and Lichenobionta. These two polyamines were not detected in any species of Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae, and fungi even though their possible precursor, diaminopropane, was found in some species. Homospermidine was one of the major polyamines in Bryophyta and Lichenobionta, and was detected in most species of Pteridophyta and sporadically in higher plants. Agmatine was detected in most species of Bryophyta and in certain species of Gymnospermae. These data suggest that norspermidine, norspermine, and homospermidine can serve as chemical phylogenic and taxonomic markers in Plantae and Fungi.

Polyamines in normal and cataractous human lenses: Evidence for post-translational modification

The polyamine composition of normal and cataractous human lenses has been studied. Polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) have been shown to occur in the unbound form in the acid-soluble fraction and in the bound form in the acid-insoluble fraction of the lens. It has also been shown that only putrescine occurs in both conjugated and non-conjugated states in the lens, while putrescine as well as spermidine occur in both forms in the aqueous fluid. Estimation of the polyamine content in cataractous lenses indicates elevated levels of both bound and unbound polyamines in these lenses in comparison to the normal lenses. Evidence is presented which indicates an increase in the level of polyamines covalently bound to protein, in a γ-glutamyl linkage, in the cataractous lens.

Polyamines in dimorphic fungi

The polyamine contents of the yeast and mycelial forms of seven dimorphic fungi were examined to determine if a relationship existed between polyamine composition and fungal morphology. Although the polyamine contents differed, no consistent patterns emerged. Evidently, the observed differences in polyamine composition were not related to fungal dimorphism but rather to the growth conditions used to achieve those morphological forms.