Polyamines and ornithine decarboxylase activity during growth and differentiation in Blastocladiella emersonii

The activity of ornithine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.17, L-ornithine carboxy-lyase) was determined during the life cycle of Blastocladiella emersonii. The specific activity of the enzyme was found to be low in the zoospores, to rise 20-fold during germination and early growth, to fall during growth and to rise again during sporulation. This rise in enzyme activity was shown to be dependent on protein synthesis. Putrescine levels, on a per mg of protein basis, paralleled the fluctuations found in ornithine decarboxylase activity. Putrescine and spermidine were the only polyamines found in extracts of B. emersonii.