DISTRIBUTION OF LONG LINEAR AND BRANCHED POLYAMINES IN THERMOPHILIC EUBACTERIA AND HYPERTHERMOPHILIC ARCHAEBACTERIA

Polyamines of thermophilic eubacteria and hyperthermophilic archaebact eria were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography and gas c hromatography. Thermotoga, Petrotoga, Fervidobacterium and Dictyoglomu s contained tetraamines such as spermine, norspermine and thermospermi ne, penta-amines such as caldopentamine, homocaldopentamine and thermo pentamine, and a hexa-amine, caldohexamine. These linear polyamines an d the quaternary branched pentaamines, N-4-bis(aminopropyl)spermidine and N-4-bis(aminopropyl)norspermidine were found in Thermoanaerobacter cellulolyticus. N-4-bis(aminopropyl)spermidine, spermidine and spermi ne were the polyamine component of the other authentic Thermoanaerobac ter species. The main polyamine of Thermodesulfobacterium commune was N-4-bis(aminopropyl)spermidine. in archaebacteria, an unusual triamine , homospermidine, occurred in Desulfurococcus and Staphylothermus. Cal dopentamine, thermopentamine and caldohexamine were detected in Pyrodi ctium, Hyperthermus and Staphylothermus. Thermoproteus and Pyrobaculum contained tri- and tetra-amines but lacked long linear and branched p olyamines. The long linear and branched polyamines are widely distribu ted in thermophilic eubacteria and archaebacteria and are chemotaxonom ically useful in the thermophiles.