Account Setup
Upon purchasing your membership and opening your account, you will receive a form to fill out with your business or research information. Business and research institutions must provide valid credentials. If you would like to apply for an exception, please send us an email with "Exception" in the subject line and explain a little about your project and yourself.
Welcome to Our Culture Bank
The ultimate solution for researchers and businesses looking to safeguard their valuable fungal strains. The Culture Bank offers secure, long-term storage solutions for fungal cultures, tailored to business and research institutions. Account holders can deposit, withdraw, and store cultures with ease, while also gaining access to a curated selection of rare and exotic strains available exclusively to members. Our focus is on tetrapolar basidiomycete gourmet and medicinal fungi, widely used in the industry. We also work with certain ascomycetes. However, we do not engage with any pathogenic or biologically hazardous strains.
The Culture Bank will maintain a strict privacy and non-sharing policy, ensuring that your cultures will never be sold or shared without your explicit written permission. Cultures are only ever moved to or from storage at the client’s request for deposit, withdrawal, or other services related to their cultures. However, members have the option to deposit a culture in the bank for resale, granting the bank the right to sell that culture. In such cases, the legacy of the original collector or breeder will be honored through royalties. Each time the culture is sold by the bank, a portion of the proceeds will go directly to the original collector or breeder.
Another benefit of allowing the Culture Bank to resell your strain is that you will receive a free deposit for that strain, enabling you to store it in the bank without any associated fees. This ensures that your strain is securely stored and available for future access while you benefit from the bank’s resale and royalty structure.
Our culture bank ensures the utmost safety and preservation of your cultures by storing multiple copies backed up across multiple locations. Redundancy is key to safeguarding your valuable cultures. We utilize the latest industry standards in cryopreservation and other advanced storage methods, employing cutting edge techniques and equipment to ensure long term viability and security. Our processes guarantee that your cultures are always available, as long as your annual fee is maintained.
Account Holder Requirements
Our Culture Bank is primarily designed for businesses and research institutions to ensure the secure storage and preservation of fungal cultures. However, we understand the unique needs of individual researchers. While accounts are generally limited to organizations, we are open to making exceptions for individuals on a case-by-case basis. If you believe your work qualifies, please reach out to discuss potential accommodations.
Free Deposits for Purchased Cultures
Clients who purchase cultures directly from the Culture Bank can receive one free deposit and ine free withdrawal of those cultures at the time of purchase into their account at no additional cost, providing an added benefit for members. This means that with every purchase, you can freely store and also get 1 free withdrawal of that culture without any additional fees—just pay for shipping. This ensures that your purchased cultures can be securely stored and easily accessed at your convenience.
Exclusive Culture Bank Menu
Account holders gain access to our premier, members-only Culture Bank menu, which features some of the most rare and exotic fungal cultures available and includes different levels of characterization in many cultures. These strains are unavailable elsewhere and are not accessible to non-members, making membership an unparalleled opportunity to acquire and preserve unique and valuable cultures.
Membership Benefits:
- Choose between 1-year or 2-year terms.
- Each membership includes free deposits and withdrawals:
- 1-year term: 5 deposits and 5 withdrawals.
- 2-year term: 10 deposits and 10 withdrawals per year, 20 in total.
- Convenient free withdrawal and deposit options, with additional withdrawals or deposits at $20 each, plus shipping.
- Exclusive access to the premier Culture Bank menu containing rare and exotic strains unavailable to non-members.
Discounted Services for Members:
- Monokaryon Verification: 50% off
- Species Barcoding (ITS): 50% off
- Hybrid Confirmation:
- Interspecific: 30% off
- Intraspecific: 30% off
Exclusive Characterization Services available to members only:
- RAPD Fingerprinting
- Growth Rate Measurement
- Gene Region Barcoding (besides ITS)
- HPLC analysis and consult
- Whole Genome (Basic) and consult
Culture Bank Terms of Service
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Eligibility:
Accounts are primarily for businesses and research institutions, with individual accounts approved on a case-by-case basis -
Account Creation:
To establish an account, users must complete the registration process and agree to all outlined terms. Account holders gain access to a curated selection of rare and exotic strains that are not available to non-members as well as storage with the bank. -
Ownership of Cultures:
All cultures and subsequent cultures derived from the Culture Bank remain the property of Imperial Labs. Unauthorized resale or redistribution of cultures is strictly prohibited unless conducted under a formal Commercial Culture Leasing Agreement. -
Membership Fees & Culture Storage:
- An annual membership fee is required to maintain an account, which includes a specified number of deposits and withdrawals.
- All cultures must be clean and viable upon deposit, consisting of two petri dishes and two slants. The Culture Bank reserves the right to discard or return any unsuitable or contaminated cultures at the sender’s expense, retaining the deposit fee for processing.
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Withdrawals and Deposits:
- Members are entitled to a specified number of free deposits and withdrawals based on their membership tier.
- Additional deposits and withdrawals are subject to fees. Each withdrawal consists of a single slant and incurs shipping costs.
- All cultures must be clean and viable upon deposit, consisting of two petri dishes and two slants
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Commercial Distribution:
- Commercial resale or redistribution of cultures is strictly prohibited unless executed under a formal agreement with the Culture Bank.
- Any violation of this policy will result in immediate termination of the account, with all cultures and materials becoming the property of the Culture Bank to be utilized at its discretion. No refunds will be issued, and legal consequences may arise.
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Service Discounts:
Account holders enjoy discounted rates on premium services, including monokaryon verification, hybrid confirmation, and species barcoding. -
Liability:
While we use industry-standard practices for culture storage, we are not liable for the potential loss of cultures due to unforeseen circumstances -
Termination of Service:
- Violations of the Terms of Service may result in the closure of your account and the disposal of stored cultures without refund.
- All stored materials will become the property of the Culture Bank, and there may be legal repercussions for fraudulent activities or policy breaches.
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Modifications to Terms:
The Culture Bank reserves the right to modify these terms at any time. Users will be promptly notified of significant changes. -
Governing Law:
These terms shall be governed by the laws applicable in the jurisdiction in which the Culture Bank operates.