Widespread occurrence of norspermidine and norspermine in eukaryotic algae

Seven phyla of eukaryotic algae were analyzed to determine their contents of diamines and polyamines. The algae examined included Rhodophyta, Pyrrophyta, Chrysophyta, Phaeophyta, Euglenophyta, Chlorophyta, and Charophyta. Both putrescine and spermidine were detected in all the algae studied, while appreciable amounts of spermine were detected only in a few species of algae. 1,3-Diaminopropane, norspermidine, and norspermine, which are chemical analogs of putrescine, spermidine, and spermine, respectively, were widely distributed in various species of algae. There was no parallelism between the distribution patterns of putrescine derivatives and those of 1,3-diaminopropane derivatives. Cadaverine and agmatine were detected in multicellular marine algae. Homospermidine was detected sporadically in some algae. The biological and phylogenetical significance of polyamines in these lower eukaryotes is discussed.