Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu charged after allegedly smuggling a fungus to US that can cause serious illness and billions of dollars in crop losses

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.

The fungus is classified in scientific literature as a “potential agroterrorism weapon,” the FBI said, and causes billions of dollars in losses each year.