The free guanidine and polyamine pools of bivalve mollusks in relation to their ecology

Abstract The compositions of free guanidine and polyamine pools of three marine bivalves, the oyster Crassostrea gigas , the japanese clam Ruditapes philippinarum and the common cockle Cerastoderma edule were investigated. The major arginine-related metabolites were 4-guanidinobutyric acid in the oyster C. gigas and octopine ( N 2 -(1- d -carboxyethyl)- l -arginine) in the clam R. philippinarum . The diamine and polyamine pattern of the cockle C. edule showed the presence of unusual polyamines, norspermidine and norspermine. In the three bivalves studied, spermine appears to be the major polyamine and spermidine the second. The occurrence of the guanidine octopine and the presence of spermine as the major polyamines in bivalves is discussed in relation to the ecology of these organisms.