Distinct difference in the polyamine compositions of bryophyta and pteridophyta.

Polyamine contents of various species of plants and fungi including Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Lichenobionta were determined by the combination of six chromatographic techniques. Polyamines examined included putrescine, spermidine, spermine, 1,3-diaminopropane (diaminopropane), sym-norspermidine (norspermidine), sym-norspermine (norspermine), thermospermine, caldopentamine, homocaldopentamine, cadaverine, aminopropylcadaverine, sym-homospermidine (homospermidine), agmatine, and canavalmine. In addition to the widely occurring polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine), the "unusual" polyamines norspermidine and norspermine were found to be widely distributed in Bryophyta and Lichenobionta. These two polyamines were not detected in any species of Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae, and fungi even though their possible precursor, diaminopropane, was found in some species. Homospermidine was one of the major polyamines in Bryophyta and Lichenobionta, and was detected in most species of Pteridophyta and sporadically in higher plants. Agmatine was detected in most species of Bryophyta and in certain species of Gymnospermae. These data suggest that norspermidine, norspermine, and homospermidine can serve as chemical phylogenic and taxonomic markers in Plantae and Fungi.