Cloning and characterization of a Nicotiana tabacum methylputrescine oxidase transcript

The oxidative deamination of N-methylputrescine is an essential step in both pyridine and tropane alkaloid biosynthesis in a variety of Solanaceous plant species. The oxidative deamination of N-methylputrescine gives rise to an unstable intermediate 1-methylaminobutanal that spontaneously cycles into N-methylpyrrolinium salt which is common to pyridine and tropane alkaloid biosynthesis.