Tertiary and quaternary branched polyamines distributed in thermophilic Saccharococcus and Bacillus

The distribution of long linear, tertiary and quaternary branched polyamines in twenty thermophilic Gram-positive strains belonging to the genera Saccharococcus, Bacillus or Amphibacillus were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography. The extremely thermophilic S. thermophilus contained a tertiary tetra-amine, N4-aminopropylspermidine, a linear penta-amine, thermopentamine, a tertiary penta-amine, N4-aminopropylspermine, and a quaternary penta-amine, N4-bis(amino-propyl)spermidine. N4-aminopropylspermine [NH2(CH2)3N((CH2)3NH2)(CH2)4NH(CH2)3NH2] first found in this study, was also detected in the extremely thermophilic 'B. caldolyticus' and 'B. caldotenax' and the moderately thermophilic B. stearothermophilus, B. smithii and B. thermocatenulatus.