Polyamine Distribution in Actinomycetes with Group B Peptidoglycan and Species

Polyamine patterns of 75 strains of actinobacteria belonging to the genera Agrococcus, Agromyces, Aureobacterium, Brevibacterium, Cluvibacter, Corynebacterium, Curtobacterium, Microbacterium, Rathayibacter, and Tsukamurellu were analyzed in order to investigate the suitability of this approach for differentiation within this group. The results revealed that the overall polyamine contents differ significantly among genera and that various patterns are present in actinobacteria. One characteristic pattern found in the genera Clavibacter, Rathayibacter, and Curtobacterium included a high polyamine concentration, and the polyamines were mainly spermidine and spermine. This feature distinguished the 2,4-diaminobutyric acid-containing genera Rathayibacter, Clavibacter, and Agromyces, which contained low concentrations of polyamines. Strains of the genus Brevibacterium were characterized by the presence of high concentrations of cadavarine and usually high concentrations of putrescine. Members of the genus Corynebacterium had relatively low polyamine contents, and usually spermidine was the major polyamine. A similar polyamine pattern was detected in the species of the genus Tsukamurella. No homogeneous polyamine patterns were detected in representatives of the genera Microbacterium and Aureobacterium, which are phylogenetically intermixed (M. Takeuchi and A. Yokota, FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 124:ll-16, 1994). The results of polyamine analyses are in good agreement with the genetic heterogeneity within the actinobacteria and demonstrate that polyamine patterns are suitable for use in classification of actinobacterial taxa.