Pedro Crous

Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute

Explore - Study - Preserve - Apply. The Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, is an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and situated in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The Westerdijk Institute performs highly innovative mycological research that contributes to the discovery and understanding of fungi and its biodiversity and potential solutions to societal challenges. We maintain a world-renowned microbial biologicial resource centre of living filamentous fungi, yeasts and bacteria. The institute's research programs principally focus on the taxonomy and evolution of fungi as well as on functional aspects of fungal biology and ecology, increasingly making use of molecular and genomics approaches. In our microbial biological resource centre (brc) we now maintain over 100.000 strains of micro-organisms, representing a large percentage of the species in the fungal kingdom that have been cultured to date. In diversity of species it is unchallenged as a reference centre for mycological research. The value of a brc depends not only on the quality of the strains, but equally on the amount and accuracy of the data attached to them. Although there are considerable differences among the various taxonomic groups, efforts are taken to increase the amount of information. The available databases allow random information retrieval and give not only access to strain data, but also to literature while links to on-line information present elsewhere are provided. Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute is a centre of expertise, advising on mycological problems of a scientific, health-related or industrial nature. It offers various services including identifications, patent deposits and courses. Research projects for third parties can be carried out on a strictly confidential base. The institute also publishes books and the journals Studies in Mycology, Fungal Systematics and Evolution, Laboratory Manuals, CBS Biodiversity Series and Persoonia.