This family contains several S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase proteins from bacterial and archaebacterial species. S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (AdoMetDC), a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of spermidine and spermine, is first synthesised as a proenzyme, which is cleaved post translationally to form alpha and beta subunits. The alpha subunit contains a covalently bound pyruvoyl group derived from serine that is essential for activity [1,2].

1: In vivo mechanism-based inactivation of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylases from Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Li YF, Hess S, Pannell LK, White Tabor C, Tabor H; Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2001;98:10578-10583. PMID:11526206

2: S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase of Bacillus subtilis is closely related to archaebacterial counterparts. Sekowska A, Coppee JY, Le Caer JP, Martin-Verstraete I, Danchin A; Mol Microbiol 2000;36:1135-1147. PMID:10844697