• US federal prosecutors have accused two Chinese nationals of smuggling a dangerous biological pathogen that had the potential to be used as an agricultural terrorism weapon into the United States.

• The US Department of Justice identified the pathogen as Fusarium graminearum, a fungus it said was classified in scientific literature as a “potential agroterrorism weapon”. 

• The fungus causes ‘head blight’ in some crops and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses globally each year.

• According to an FBI criminal complaint, Zunyong Liu, 34, a researcher currently in China, brought the fungus into the United States while visiting his girlfriend, Yunqing Jian, 33, in July 2024.

• He admitted to smuggling in the fungus so he could conduct research on it at a University of Michigan laboratory where his girlfriend worked, according to the complaint.

Fusarium graminearum

• Pathogens belonging to the Fusarium genus are causal agents of the most significant crop diseases worldwide. 

• Fusarium establishes the colony and destroys plant tissues by overriding the plant defence mechanisms and also by producing host-specific toxins.

• Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites of certain fungi that can grow on agricultural commodities in the field and during storage. 

• The occurrence of these toxins on grains, seeds, and complete animal food is influenced by various environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, and rainfall during growing, harvesting, and storage. 

• When fungal growth occurs, mycotoxins are produced in commodities, some of which are used in animal food. 

• The mycotoxins will then remain in the food throughout every phase of food production. 

• Mycotoxins are difficult to eliminate because they are not destroyed by most of the processes used in animal food production. 

• When consumed by animals or humans, the results can be detrimental, resulting in illness or even death. The effects of mycotoxins can manifest in a variety of ways, including neurologic impairment, liver, kidney, or heart failure. 

• Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum, is one of the most important wheat diseases.

• The disease commonly attacks wheat crops contaminating them with dangerous mycotoxins which are detrimental to human and animal health. 

• Infection of wheat by the pathogen results in grain yield loss, quality reduction, and kernel contamination with deoxynivalenol (DON) and other mycotoxins.

• The pathogen also seriously infects a number of other crops and plants including barley, oats, rye, corn, canary seed and forage grasses.

• The pathogen produces deoxynivalenol (DON or vomitoxin) and other mycotoxins that contaminate grains, resulting in reduced feed consumption and weight gain by livestock, degraded baking quality of flour, and food safety concerns.

• Infestation can occur throughout the cultivation process and generally initiate decomposition. If wheat infested with Fusarium mould makes its way into the diets of humans, it may cause symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headaches, dizziness, fever, and it may cause immunological issues.

• Animals, too, will suffer from vomiting and abdominal pain. In animals, swine are the most susceptible.

• Diseased kernels are shrivelled and lower in weight. Consequently this also results in excessive yield loss for farmers and economic loss for the cereal industry.

• Multiple fungicide applications have increased the economic cost to growers and public concerns over pesticide risks and the development of pathogen resistance.

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