1 3 DOI 10.1007/s00726-015-2093-z Amino Acids (2015) 47:2665–2670 SHORT COMMUNICATION Spatiotemporal patterning of polyamines in Drosophila development Miranda Burnette 1 · Jeremiah J. Zartman 1 Received: 13 June 2015 / Accepted: 29 August 2015 / Published online: 19 September 2015 © Springer-Verlag Wien 2015 Wg Wingless EGFR Epidermal growth factor receptor ODC Ornithine decarboxylase SRM Spermine synthase SMS Spermidine synthase Arg Arginase SamDC S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase SamS S-adenosylmethionine synthetase DHPS Deoxyhypusine synthase DOHH Deoxyhypusine hydroxylase SMO Spermine oxidase PAO Polyamine oxidase SAT1/2 Diamine acetyltransferase 1/2 AcCoA Acetyl coenzyme A OAZ/Oda Antizyme PCA Principle component analysis Btl Breathless E-Cad E-cadherin MF Morphogenetic furrow Introduction Polyamines (PAs)—putrescine, spermidine, and sper- mine—are ubiquitous organic molecules influencing mul- tiple cellular processes, including gene regulation, signal transduction, and ion channel gating (Igarashi and Kashi- wagi 2010; Pegg and Casero 2011; Chowhan and Singh 2013). In particular, PAs have been implicated in the reg- ulation of a variety of developmental processes. In retina development of rabbits, chicks, and rats, PAs were found to be spatially localized (De Mello et al. 1976; Ientile et al. 1986; Taibi et al. 1994, 1995; Withrow et al. 2002). In rab- bits, PA depletion disrupts cone differentiation (Withrow et al. 2002). Polyamines also function in the growth and Abstract While several studies have implicated polyam- ines (PAs) in development, little research has been done in genetically tractable model systems like Drosophila. Here, we integrate transcriptional and metabolic data across Dros- ophila development, and are the first to show temporal, stage-specific regulation of PA accumulation in embryonic trachea and eye discs using immunohistochemistry. Under- standing the regulation driving this accumulation can pro- vide insight into PA metabolism and transport. Our findings suggest that Drosophila has great potential for investigating PAs in developmental biology. Keywords Spermidine · Spermine · Trachea · Eye imaginal disc · Embryogenesis · Polyamine metabolism · Drosophila Abbreviations PA Polyamine Put Putrescine Spd Spermidine Spm Spermine Dpp Decapentaplegic Hh Hedgehog Handling Editor: S. Beninati. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00726-015-2093-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Jeremiah J. Zartman jzartman@nd.edu 1 Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 180 Fitzpatrick Hall of Engineering, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA