LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Two Chinese researchers have been charged with smuggling a fungus known to be a “potential agroterrorism weapon” that the University of Michigan claims is intended to study it, authorities said.
Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, citizens of the People’s Republic of China, conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, Visa Fraud, Gorgon Jr. of the United States.
Jiang has gained federal custody in Detroit, and Li is believed to be in China.
According to criminal charges, Liu initially lied about why the fungus Fusarium graminearum was brought to the US. He later admitted to smuggling fungi and researching them in the lab at the University of Michigan lab and in the lab where he previously worked.
Fusarium graminearum causes a disease called Fusarium head blight, which can wipe out grain crops such as wheat, barley, corn, and rice. According to the US Department of Agriculture, it is causing a billion dollars annual losses to US wheat and barley crops.
Although not the only fungus that causes blight in the head of Fusarium, it is the most common culprit in the United States, and the fungus infects plants early in the growing season, shrinking wheat grains, and leaves crop heads with a whitish colour. It also accumulates in wheat nuclei, preventing people and livestock from eating it.
The complaint reports that Jian received Chinese government funding for her work on the pathogen in China. Investigators said they found information about Jiang’s loyalty to China’s Communist Party. Liu is studying the same pathogen in China.
“The suspects of these Chinese citizens, including loyal members of the Chinese Communist Party, are a national security concern, and these two aliens are accused of smuggling potential agroterrorist weapons called “potential agrolorism weapons” that are intended to use Michigan labs.”
The case is still under investigation, US lawyer Gorgon reports.
Although Jian and Liu have been accused of smuggling Fusarium graminearum into the country, the fungus is already popular in the United States (particularly the eastern and midwest midwest), and scientists have been studying it for decades.
Researchers often bring foreign plants, animals, and even fungal strains to the United States for research, but they must provide specific permission before moving anything across states or borders. For example, studying the genes of foreign fungal strains can help scientists learn how to withstand heat, resist pesticides, and tolerate mutations.
“We see variations in individuals just like humans,” said Nicole Gautier, a plant pathologist at the University of Kentucky, who studies Fusarium.
That said, it is unclear why Chinese researchers wanted to bring Fusarium graminearum stocks to the US, and why they didn’t fill in the appropriate documents to do so.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
