A hybrid biosynthetic-catabolic pathway for norspermidine production

The only known pathway for biosynthesis of the polyamine norspermidine starts from aspartate β-semialdehyde to form the diamine 1,3-diaminopropane, which is then converted to norspermidine via a carboxynorspermidine intermediate. This pathway is found primarily in the Vibrionales order of the γ-Proteobacteria. However, norspermidine is also found in other species of bacteria and archaea, and in diverse single-celled eukaryotes, chlorophyte algae and plants that do not encode the known norspermidine biosynthetic pathway. We reasoned that products of polyamine catabolism could be an alternative route to norspermidine production. 1,3-diaminopropane is formed from terminal catabolism of spermine and spermidine, and norspermidine can be formed from catabolism of thermospermine. We found that the single-celled chlorophyte alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii thermospermine synthase (CrACL5) did not aminopropylate exogenously-derived 1,3-diaminopropane efficiently when expressed in Escherichia coli. In contrast, it completely converted all E. coli native spermidine to thermospermine. Co-expression in E. coli of the polyamine oxidase 5 from lycophyte plant Selaginella lepidophylla (SelPAO5), together with the CrACL5 thermospermine synthase, converted almost all thermospermine to norspermidine. Although CrACL5 was efficient at aminopropylating norspermidine to form tetraamine norspermine, SelPAO5 oxidizes norspermine back to norspermidine, with the balance of flux being inclined fully to norspermine oxidation. The steady-state polyamine content of E. coli co-expressing thermospermine synthase CrACL5 and polyamine oxidase SelPAO5 was an almost total replacement of spermidine by norspermidine. We have recapitulated a potential hybrid biosynthetic-catabolic pathway for norspermidine production in E. coli, which could explain norspermidine accumulation in species that do not encode the known aspartate β-semialdehyde-dependent pathway.