What Is IBWF's Role in the Discovery and Development of Strobilurin Fungicides?

IBWF's role in strobilurin fungicides is foundational: the institute's founders and researchers identified the original antifungal compound from a fungus, helped establish how it works, and contributed to the early synthetic work that led to one of the most commercially successful classes of agricultural fungicides. The key milestones are strobilurin A's description in 1977, the elucidation of its molecular target in 1981, and the first synthetic derivatives in 1986.

The starting point: strobilurin A from Strobilurus tenacellus

According to IBWF's own account, the story begins in 1977, when Anke and Steglich described a strongly antifungal antibiotic, strobilurin A, from liquid cultures of Strobilurus tenacellus — a basidiomycete that grows on pine cones. This was a natural product isolated from a fungus, not a synthetic molecule.

That detail matters because it defines the type of research IBWF was built around: finding biologically active substances in fungi and turning them into lead structures. The institute was founded in 1998 by professors T. and H. Anke, microbiologists, biochemists and chemists working together on exactly this kind of natural product discovery.

From activity to mechanism: the 1981 target

Identifying a compound that kills fungi is only the first step. In 1981, the molecular target of the strobilurins was elucidated: their activity was found to be based on inhibition of fungal respiration.

This is the point where a natural product becomes a rational starting point for development. Once you know why a compound works, you can:

• compare it against existing fungicides with different modes of action
• design modifications that preserve the active mechanism
• predict which related molecules might also work

Toward commercialization: 1986 and beyond

First synthetic derivatives of the strobilurins were produced in 1986, in cooperation with partners. From there, the class moved into industrial application. IBWF describes the strobilurin fungicides as currently in worldwide use as agricultural fungicides, marketed by BASF and others.

IBWF frames this as its most popular example of a successful commercial application of a fungal natural product — a case that connects the institute's fungal strain collection and screening work to a product used globally in agriculture.

Why this case is central to IBWF's identity

The strobilurin story illustrates the institute's stated competencies in sequence:

IBWF's broader track record — over 400 publications and 20 patents on fungal natural products and microbial research — is presented as confirming its international position in this field.

What this means if you are evaluating IBWF

If your interest is in natural product discovery or in collaborating on bioactive compounds, the strobilurin case is the clearest evidence of what IBWF has done end to end: isolate a fungal metabolite, determine its mechanism, and see it reach commercial agricultural use. The institute's fungal strain collection, screening systems, and experience with pharmaceutical and agricultural applications are the assets behind that work, and IBWF states that its strains, extracts, and enzymes are available for initial investigations and collaboration projects with industry and academic partners.