Open AccessFormation of aminopropylhomospermidine from homospermidine in yeasts and thermophilic bacilli
Author(s) -
Matsuzaki Shigeru,
Hamana Koei,
Niitsu Masaru,
Samejima Keijiro,
Yamashita Satoshi
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1987.tb02504.x
Subject(s) - spermine , bacillus subtilis , polyamine , schizosaccharomyces , schizosaccharomyces pombe , biochemistry , bacillus (shape) , biology , yeast , microbiology and biotechnology , escherichia coli , thermophile , bacteria , chemistry , saccharomyces cerevisiae , enzyme , genetics , gene
When the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida albicans and Schizosaccharomyces pombe and the thermophilic bacteria Bacillus stearothermophilus and Bacillus acidocaldarius were cultured in the presence of homospermidine, a new compound accumulated in the cells within a few days. This compound was identified as aminopropylhomospermidine [NH 2 (CH 2 ) 3 NH (CH 2 ) 4 NH(CH 2 ) 4 NH 2 ] by gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC‐MS) and by the enzymatic cleavage method developed in our laboratories. This polyamine was not produced from homospermidine in Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus alkalophilus , or a eukaryotic protozoon, Tetrahymena pyriformis , none of which usually contains appreciable amounts of spermine. These findings suggest that the synthesis of aminopropylhomospermidine from homospermidine is mediated by spermine synthase.