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What is IBWF?
IBWF is the Institute of Biotechnology and Drug Research, a non-profit research institute founded in 1998 by professors T. and H. Anke. Its work centers on finding and developing biologically active substances and enzymes from fungi, with an eye toward pharmaceutical and agricultural applications.
Its main asset is a large, diverse fungal strain collection — ascomycetes, basidiomycetes, zygomycetes, imperfect fungi, coprophiles and endophytes — along with extracts and enzymes from those strains for initial biological-activity testing. The institute's stated competencies include identifying and characterizing the molecular targets of active compounds, studying biosynthesis, and working out how biosynthetic pathways are regulated. It also has experience with microbial enzymes for biotransformation, bioremediation and other industrial uses.
A useful illustration of what this kind of work can lead to is the strobilurin fungicides: strobilurin A was described in 1977 from the basidiomycete Strobilurus tenacellus, its target was elucidated in 1981 as fungal respiration, and synthetic derivatives followed in 1986; strobilurins are now widely used agricultural fungicides.
Who it is for: the institute positions itself for collaboration with industry and academic partners — for example, a company looking for new lead structures or a research group needing fungal strains, extracts or screening systems.
Next step: if you have a specific application in mind, check the Services section of IBWF and approach with a defined biological question rather than a general enquiry; that makes it easier to judge whether its strain collection and screening experience fit your project.
How can I access IBWF's fungal strain collection for my research?
Access is arranged through research collaboration, not through a public online catalog or a self-service ordering portal. The IBWF describes its fungal strain collection as non-profit and unusually diverse (ascomycetes, basidiomycetes, zygomycetes, imperfect fungi, coprophiles and endophytes), and states that extracts of each strain and some of their enzymes are available for initial biological-activity investigations. So the practical route is to propose a joint project with the institute, typically alongside an academic or industrial partner.
What to put in a first enquiry
- Your research goal: screening for pharmaceutical or agricultural leads, target identification, biosynthesis work, or enzyme applications such as biotransformation and bioremediation.
- Which material you need: live strains, fungal extracts, or isolated enzymes.
- The assays you plan to run, and whether you need IBWF's screening systems or will use your own.
- Collaboration terms: joint publication, intellectual property, material transfer agreement, and any cost recovery for the non-profit institute.
- Biosafety, import permits and phytosanitary documentation for shipping fungal material to your country.
Choosing your route
| Situation | Sensible approach |
|---|---|
| Academic project, early-stage screening | Collaborative research agreement; expect joint publication and shared IP terms |
| Industry looking for lead structures | Sponsored collaboration or service screening, with IP negotiated up front |
| You only need a few extracts to test | Ask whether extracts can be supplied under a material transfer agreement |
| You need enzymes, not strains | Enquire separately about the enzyme and biotransformation expertise |
One caveat: because the collection is described as non-profit and collaboration-oriented, requests framed purely as one-off sample purchases are less likely to fit than proposals with a clear shared research question.
Next step: draft a short two-page concept note — objective, requested material, assays, timeline, and proposed division of rights — and send it to the institute's scientific staff via the contact details on Competence in bioactive compounds and microbiology. Mention the strobilurin work as evidence you understand their natural-product-to-application pipeline; it signals a serious, application-minded partner.
What types of collaboration does IBWF offer to industry partners?
IBWF offers industry partners collaboration around fungal natural products and microbiology, from early screening through to characterizing how a promising compound works. Its strain collection and existing extract/enzyme libraries make it possible to start joint investigations without building a fungal source from scratch.
Typical collaboration entry points
- Screening fungal strains, extracts and enzymes for biological activity relevant to pharmaceutical or agricultural use.
- Identifying, isolating and purifying active compounds, with the aim of finding new lead structures.
- Developing and applying test systems for detecting activity.
- Characterizing molecular targets and biosynthesis pathways of active compounds.
- Enzyme work for biotransformation, bioremediation and other industrial applications.
- Joint projects with academic and industry partners, drawing on the institute's natural-product research experience.
What partners bring and receive
| Partner contribution | IBWF-side contribution |
|---|---|
| A defined indication, crop problem or enzyme need | Fungal strains, extracts and enzymes for initial testing |
| Assay capacity or market/application knowledge | Screening systems and natural-product isolation expertise |
| Development or scale-up capability | Target identification, biosynthesis and regulation know-how |
The fit is strongest when you have a specific biological question or application area and want to test it against a diverse fungal resource, rather than when you need a routine analytical service. A practical next step is to define the target activity, the acceptable testing format and whether you seek a screening result, an isolated compound or mechanistic data; then ask IBWF which strains or extracts match that brief. For context on the institute, see Competence in bioactive compounds and microbiology.
What screening systems does IBWF use to identify bioactive compounds?
IBWF does not name individual screening systems on the page; it describes building "a broad set of different screening systems" over time. That wording points to a platform of assays rather than one method, used to find and characterise new lead structures for pharmaceutical and agricultural applications.
What the page actually says
- Microbiologists, biochemists and chemists work together on new biologically active substances and enzymes from fungi.
- The work covers identification, isolation and purification of active compounds.
- Screening is tied to the institute's long experience in natural product research and test system development.
- Competence areas include identifying and characterising the molecular targets of active compounds, biosynthesis of specific substances, and regulation of biosynthetic pathways.
- The fungal strain collection spans ascomycetes, basidiomycetes, zygomycetes and imperfect fungi, plus coprophiles and endophytes.
- Extracts from each strain, and a number of their enzymes, are available for initial biological-activity investigations.
Practical reading
For a partner, the collection is the input side and the screening systems are the filter. A typical project would start with fungal extracts or enzymes, run them through activity assays, then isolate and purify the compounds responsible. The strobilurin example shows the endpoint of that chain: strobilurin A was described from Strobilurus tenacellus, its molecular target was elucidated in 1981, and synthetic derivatives followed in 1986.
Decision criterion
If you need a defined assay panel with published protocols, ask IBWF directly which systems exist and whether they can be adapted to your target. If you mainly need diverse fungal material and natural-product expertise, the strain collection and extract library are the more concrete entry point.
Next step: contact the institute with your target indication or enzyme application and ask which assays and extract sets are available for a joint project. You can start from Competence in bioactive compounds and microbiology.
How does IBWF support biotransformation and bioremediation projects?
IBWF supports biotransformation and bioremediation work mainly through its microbial enzyme expertise and its fungal strain collection, acting as a research partner rather than a service portal. The institute states that its experience includes knowledge about microbial enzymes for biotransformation, bioremediation and other industrial purposes, and it invites collaboration projects with industry and academia.
What that means in practice
- Enzyme and strain screening. A company or research group with a target reaction or a contaminated matrix can start from IBWF's fungal strains, their extracts and selected enzymes, rather than building a library from scratch.
- Early-stage investigation. Extracts and enzymes are described as available for initial investigations of biological activity, which suits feasibility testing before a full development programme.
- Mechanistic follow-up. IBWF's stated competences include identifying molecular targets, biosynthesis of specific substances and regulation of biosynthetic pathways — useful if a hit needs to be understood, improved or produced reliably.
- Track record. The institute points to over 400 publications and 20 patents, and to the strobilurin fungicides as a commercial outcome of its fungal natural product research.
Who benefits most
Teams that need novel biocatalysts or degradation pathways and lack in-house fungal microbiology are the natural fit. A typical route: define the substrate or pollutant, agree a screening scope, then use IBWF's collection and assay systems to find candidate enzymes or strains.
Practical next step
Before contacting them, prepare a one-page brief covering the reaction or contaminant, required conditions (pH, temperature, solvent), whether you need a whole organism or isolated enzyme, and the intended scale. Ask explicitly which of their screening systems fits your case, and clarify strain access, enzyme supply and IP terms early — these are the usual sticking points in biotransformation and bioremediation collaborations.
For comparison, similar public research collections and culture banks such as DSMZ and Westerdijk Institute can complement a search when you need defined strains or deposit services.
What are the commercial applications of IBWF's natural product research?
IBWF's own account of its work points to one commercial application that reached the market: the strobilurin fungicides. Its page describes how strobilurin A was identified from Strobilurus tenacellus, how its molecular target was elucidated in 1981, and how synthetic derivatives followed in 1986. These compounds became agricultural fungicides used worldwide and marketed by companies including BASF.
Beyond that flagship case, the institute frames its commercial relevance around partnership rather than finished products. Its stated fields include:
- Pharmaceutical and agricultural leads – identifying, isolating and purifying biologically active fungal compounds as starting points for new drugs and crop-protection agents.
- Screening systems – a broad set of assays developed from long experience in natural-product research, which partners can use to test extracts and compounds.
- Microbial enzymes – knowledge relevant to biotransformation, bioremediation and other industrial processes.
- Target and biosynthesis work – identifying molecular targets of active compounds and understanding how they are biosynthesised.
A practical way to read this: IBWF is a research partner for the early, risky stage of discovery, not a supplier of off-the-shelf commercial products. A company with a screening gap or an interest in fungal chemistry would approach it for strain material, extracts, enzymes or assay collaboration. For general context on how such publicly funded German research institutes operate, see Competence in bioactive compounds and microbiology.
To judge fit, ask which of your needs matches its evidence: a validated target, a screening platform, or access to a diverse fungal strain collection. The strobilurin history is the strongest proof that its discovery work can translate into commercial crop protection.
Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
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