Two Chinese Nationals Charged for Toxic Fungus Smuggling

Two Chinese nationals have been charged with conspiracy and smuggling after attempting to bring a toxic fungus that is a "dangerous biological pathogen" into the United States, the Justice Department said.

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The U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Michigan accused Yunqing Jian, a researcher at the University of Michigan, and Zunyong Liu, a researcher at Zhejiang University in China, of working together to smuggle into the United States samples of Fusarium graminearum, which it described as a "noxious fungus."

The fungus causes head blight disease in wheat, barley, corn and other crops, affecting crop quality and yield. Outbreaks have been reported in several countries.

The toxins produced by the fungus can cause vomiting and liver damage, and an article in a science journal described the fungus as "a potential agroterrorism weapon that could be used for targeting food crops," according to an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Edward Nieh.

According to the affidavit, Liu, 34, and Jian, 33, were both studying biological pathogens that can infect crops, with Jian working as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Laboratory at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.