Gevrekci Aslıhan Örs
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Letters, Başkent University, Ankara, Turkey.
World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2017 Oct 27;33(11):204. doi: 10.1007/s11274-017-2370-y.
Polyamines are small polycations that are well conserved in all the living organisms except Archae, Methanobacteriales and Halobacteriales. The most common polyamines are putrescine, spermidine and spermine, which exist in varying concentrations in different organisms. They are involved in a variety of cellular processes such as gene expression, cell growth, survival, stress response and proliferation. Therefore, diverse regulatory pathways are evolved to ensure strict regulation of polyamine concentration in the cells. Polyamine levels are kept under strict control by biosynthetic pathways as well as cellular uptake driven by specific transporters. Reverse genetic studies in microorganisms showed that deletion of the genes in polyamine metabolic pathways or depletion of polyamines have negative effects on cell survival and proliferation. The protein products of these genes are also used as drug targets against pathogenic protozoa. These altogether confirm the significant roles of polyamines in the cells. This mini-review focuses on the differential concentrations of polyamines and their cellular functions in different microorganisms. This will provide an insight about the diverse evolution of polyamine metabolism and function based on the physiology and the ecological context of the microorganisms.
多胺是一类小分子聚阳离子，除古细菌、甲烷杆菌目和嗜盐菌目外，在所有生物中都高度保守。最常见的多胺是腐胺、亚精胺和精胺，它们在不同生物中的浓度各不相同。它们参与多种细胞过程，如基因表达、细胞生长、存活、应激反应和增殖。因此，进化出了多种调节途径，以确保严格调控细胞内的多胺浓度。多胺水平通过生物合成途径以及由特定转运蛋白驱动的细胞摄取受到严格控制。微生物的反向遗传学研究表明，多胺代谢途径中的基因缺失或多胺的消耗对细胞存活和增殖有负面影响。这些基因的蛋白质产物也被用作抗病原原生动物的药物靶点。这些都证实了多胺在细胞中的重要作用。本综述聚焦于不同微生物中多胺的差异浓度及其细胞功能。这将基于微生物的生理学和生态背景，深入了解多胺代谢和功能的多样进化。
