Fusarium graminearum

Fusarium graminearum, also known by its sexual stage name Gibberella zeae, is an ascomycete fungal plant pathogen that causes Fusarium head blight, a devastating disease of wheat and barley, as well as related ear rot in corn and head blight or scab on other small grains including rice and oats. Beyond the direct yield damage it causes, the fungus contaminates infected grain with mycotoxins, particularly deoxynivalenol and zearalenone, which can cause vomiting, liver damage and reproductive problems in livestock that eat contaminated feed and pose food safety concerns for people as well. The disease causes billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide every year, and despite extensive plant breeding efforts, no wheat or barley variety completely resistant to it currently exists, so growers must rely on integrated strategies combining partially resistant varieties, fungicides and crop rotation.