Boron binding by a siderophore isolated from marine bacteria associated with the toxic dinoflagellate G. catenatum

The known siderophore vibrioferrin has been isolated from species of Marinobacter required for the growth of the toxic, bloom forming dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum. A number of unique attributes of this siderophore, including its ability to bind boron, may provide important clues as to the nature of this and related algal-bacterial relationships.