Only iron-limited cells of the cyanobacterium Anabaena flos-aquae inhibit growth of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Cocultivation of iron-limited cells of the cyanobacterium Anabaena flos-aquae (Lyng.) Breb. and the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dangeard resulted in growth of Anabaena but not Chlamydomonas, even in the presence of excess exogenous iron. This effect was also observed during the cultivation of Chlamydomonas in a medium in which iron-limited Anabaena cells had been growing, but were removed prior to culture of Chlamydomonas. Conversely, iron-limited Chlamydomonas cells grew very well in medium from iron (nutrient)-sufficient, phosphate-limited, and nitrogen-limited Anabaena cultures. Iron-limited Anabaena cultures produced siderophores, while the other types of Anabaena cultures did not. Treatment of Anabaena iron-limited medium with activated charcoal completely removed the inhibitory effect on Chlamydomonas growth, and boiling the medium removed most of the inhibitory effect. Both the charcoal and the boiling treatments also removed siderophores from the medium. Partially purified Anabaena siderophore preparations were also inhibitory to Chlamydomonas growth. The inhibitory effect of iron-limited Anabaena medium could be partially overcome by addition of excess micronutrients (especially cobalt copper) but not by addition of iron. We suggest that Anabaena-derived siderophores, present only in iron-limited Anabaena medium, inhibit the growth of Chlamydomonas cells via a previously uncharacterized toxicity. This effect is different from previously described experiments in which cyanobacterial siderophores suppressed green algal growth via competition for limiting amounts of iron.