Polyamines in Eukaryotes, Bacteria, and Archaea

Overview

Journal J Biol Chem

Specialty Biochemistry

Date 2016 Jun 9

PMID 27268252

Citations 114

Authors

Anthony J Michael

Affiliations

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Abstract

Polyamines are primordial polycations found in most cells and perform different functions in different organisms. Although polyamines are mainly known for their essential roles in cell growth and proliferation, their functions range from a critical role in cellular translation in eukaryotes and archaea, to bacterial biofilm formation and specialized roles in natural product biosynthesis. At first glance, the diversity of polyamine structures in different organisms appears chaotic; however, biosynthetic flexibility and evolutionary and ecological processes largely explain this heterogeneity. In this review, I discuss the biosynthetic, evolutionary, and physiological processes that constrain or expand polyamine structural and functional diversity.

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