Isolation and biological characterization of staphyloferrin B, a compound with siderophore activity from...

A highly hydrophilic compound with siderophore activity has been isolated from the supernatant of Staphylococcus hyicus DSM 20459 grown under iron-restricted conditions. The metabolite, named staphyloferrin B, is strictly iron-regulated and produced by a large variety of staphylococci strains. In vivo iron transport measurements and the growth-promoting activity in a bioassay establish staphyloferrin B as the second siderophore for staphylococci besides the previously described staphyloferrin A. The structure elucidation revealed 2,3-diaminopropionic acid, citrate, ethylenediamine and 2-ketoglutaric acid as structural components of the compound. Thus, staphyloferrin B is a structurally new siderophore of the complexone type.