Putrescine

Putrescine is a four-carbon organic diamine produced during amino-acid breakdown and found in living cells. It is a precursor to other polyamines involved in cell growth and physiology.

Ornithine decarboxylase: An enzyme that removes carbon dioxide from ornithine to produce putrescine. This enzyme catalyzes the principal route from ornithine to putrescine in many organisms.
1,4-Diaminobutane: The systematic name for the four-carbon molecule bearing amino groups at both ends. This name specifies putrescine's structure without relying on its common name.
Escherichia coli: A bacterial species widely used in molecular biology and industrial biotechnology. Engineered strains can produce putrescine from renewable feedstocks.
Cadaverine: A five-carbon diamine formed mainly by lysine decarboxylation. It is another decay-associated diamine, but has one more carbon atom than putrescine.
Arginine decarboxylase: An enzyme that converts arginine into agmatine by removing carbon dioxide. Agmatine can be converted into putrescine through an alternative biosynthetic route.
Ornithine: A nonproteinogenic amino acid and intermediate in the urea cycle. Decarboxylation of ornithine yields putrescine in a major biosynthetic pathway.
Metabolic engineering: The deliberate redesign of cellular metabolism to produce useful compounds or traits. Researchers redirect microbial pathways to increase putrescine production.
Spermidine: A three-nitrogen polyamine formed from putrescine and an aminopropyl group. Unlike putrescine, spermidine has three nitrogen atoms and is a downstream product.
Polyamine metabolism: The synthesis, modification, transport, and breakdown of cellular polyamines. Putrescine is both a central intermediate and a regulated product of this network.
Arginine: A protein-building amino acid that also serves as a precursor to several metabolites. Arginine-derived agmatine supplies putrescine in an alternative pathway.

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