Pseudomonas cepacia as well as all five Alcaligenes and three Comamonas species tested belonging to the beta subclass of Proteobacteria ubiquitously contained 2-hydroxyputrescine and putrescine as the major polyamines. Cadaverine was found in P. cepacia. Putrescine and spermidine were the major polyamines of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas putida belonging to the gamma subclass and Pseudomonas saccharophila whose taxonomic positions have not been established. Polyamine distribution profiles can serve as a chemotaxonomic marker within Pseudomonas species. Relative distribution patterns of the major polyamines of P. aeruginosa did not changed at different culture periods in spite of increase or decrease of their levels during growth
