Potential ‘agroterrorism weapon’ fungus smuggled into US by Chinese scientists, FBI alleges

Two Chinese scientists have been charged with smuggling a toxic fungus into the United States that they planned to research at an American university, the justice department has said.

Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, false statements, and visa fraud, the US attorney’s office for the eastern district of Michigan said in a statement on Tuesday.

The justice department said the pair conspired to smuggle a fungus called Fusarium graminearum into the United States that causes “head blight,” a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice.