Main Content

The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 4244

Byeong G. Kim, Andrezj Sobota, Alan J. Bitonti, Peter P. McCann, and Thomas J. Byers; Polyamine Metabolism in Acanthamoeba: Polyamine Content and Synthesis of Ornithine, Putrescine, and Diaminopropane. J.Protozool. 34(3):278-284, 1987

Reprint

In File

Notes

Five polyamines which could be separated by high performance liquid chromatography were found in Acanthamoeba castellanii (strain Neff). These included in order of decreasing abundance: 1,3-diaminopropane, spermidine, spermine, norspermidine, and putrescine. Only diaminopropane and norspermidine had been found previously. Spermine was present in cultures grown in broth, but not in defined medium. Radioactive substrates were used to establish that putrescine was synthesized by decarboxylation of ornithine, ornithine was synthesized from arginine or citrulline, and diaminopropane was synthesized from spermidine. The presence of ornithine decarboxylase (E.C. 4.1.1.17), arginase (E.C. 3.5.3.1), and urease (E.C. 3.5.1.5) and the absence of arginine decarboxylase (E.C. 4.1.1.19) were established. A scheme for polyamine biosynthesis in A. castellanii is proposed.