Polyamines are key components of labile dissolved organic nitrogen in coastal waters. They are found in all living organisms, which are the sources of dissolved organic matter in marine environments. The concentrations of dissolved polyamines are generally low and are controlled as much by production as by consumption. Understanding the dynamics of intracellular pools of polyamines could provide insight to their dynamics in the environment and their potential contribution to ecosystem processes. We measured the concentrations of 6 common polyamines (putrescine, cadaverine, norspermidine, spermidine, norspermine and spermine) extracted from particles in water samples collected on the continental shelf of the South Atlantic Bight (SAB). The total concentrations of extractable polyamines (EPs) decreased from inshore to the shelf-break of the SAB, following a pattern similar to chlorophyll a and opposite to salinity. The composition of EPs was highly correlated with the distribution of phytoplankton species assessed as the abundance of diatom 18S rRNA genes, and with densities of picoeukaryote, Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus cells, suggesting that phytoplankton are the primary source of EPs, followed by a freshwater or nearshore source. Our data suggest that putrescine, norspermidine and spermidine are released primarily from diatoms and picoeukaryotes, while Synechococcus and dinoflagellates are the likely sources of norspermine and spermine.

多胺是沿海水域中不稳定的溶解有机氮的关键成分。它们存在于所有生物体中，它们是海洋环境中溶解有机物的来源。溶解的多胺的浓度通常很低，并且通过生产和消费来控制。了解细胞内多胺池的动态可以提供对它们在环境中的动态及其对生态系统过程的潜在贡献的洞察。我们测量了从南大西洋湾 (SAB) 大陆架收集的水样中的颗粒中提取的 6 种常见多胺（腐胺、尸胺、去甲精胺、亚精胺、去甲精胺和精胺）的浓度。从近岸到 SAB 的货架断裂，可提取多胺 (EPs) 的总浓度下降，a与盐度相反。EPs 的组成与浮游植物物种的分布高度相关，被评估为硅藻 18S rRNA 基因的丰度，以及小核细胞、聚球藻和原绿球藻细胞的密度，表明浮游植物是 EPs 的主要来源，其次是淡水或近岸来源。我们的数据表明腐胺、去甲亚精胺和亚精胺主要从硅藻和微核生物中释放，而聚球藻和甲藻可能是去甲精胺和精胺的来源。