Binding to iodine, or containing starches that bind to iodine, and therefore detectable or identifiable by staining with iodine.
1960, Lilian E. Hawker, An Introduction to the Biology of Micro-organisms, E. Arnold (publisher), page 345:Cellulose decomposition is associated with iodophilic bacteria (i.e. organisms which reveal starch-like substances when stained with iodine) and which are found in large numbers attached to plant debris among the rumen contents.
