Distribution of polyamines in actinomycetes

Polyamines were analyzed in 23 species of actinomycetes including mesophilic, halophilic, alkalophilic and thermophilic strains. Putrescine and spermidine were found to be the predominant polyamines in all the actinomycetes examined. Spermine was also found as a major polyamine in most of the thermophilic actinomycetes, and is the most abundant polyamine in Thermoactinomyces vulgaris. In some of the mesophiles and alkalophiles, the concentration of spermine was much lower than that of other polyamines. Cadaverine was detected in almost all species examined, while agmatine was found only in some. Unusual polyamines, such as norspermidine, homospermidine, norspermine, thermospermine and aminopropylcadaverine were not detected in any of the actinomycetes examined.