Wheat plants infected by Fusarium graminearum (Picture by Howard F. Schwartz, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org)

The genome of Fusarium graminearum strain PH-1 (NRRL 31084) was sequenced by the BROAD Institute. In order to allow comparative analyses with other fungi, a copy of the genome of F. graminearum is incorporated into MycoCosm. The following text was copied from the BROAD website:

Fusarium graminearum is the causal agent of head blight (scab) of wheat and barley, a plant disease with great impact on U.S. agriculture and society during the past decade. Approximately $3 billion were lost to U. S. agriculture during wheat scab epidemics in the 1990s, resulting in devastating effects on farm communities in the upper Midwest and elsewhere (McMullen et al., 1997; Windels, 2000). Moreover, the disease is becoming a threat to the world's food supply due to recent head blight outbreaks in Asia, Canada, Europe and South America (Dubin et al., 1997). The fungus also infects and causes disease on corn and rice (Webster and Gunnell, 1992; White, 1999). The pathogen poses a two-fold threat: first, infested cereals are significantly reduced in seed quality and yield, and secondly, scabby grain is contaminated with trichothecene and estrogenic mycotoxins, making it unsuitable for food or feed (McMullen et al., 1997). As a food safety issue, trichothecene toxins such as "vomitoxin" (deoxynivalenol) pose a serious hazard to human and animal health because these sesquiterpenoids are potent inhibitors of eukaryotic protein biosynthesis. Vomitoxin causes weight loss and feeding refusal in non-ruminant livestock, and human ingestion of grain contaminated with F. graminearum has been associated with alimentary toxic aleukia as well as illness characterized by nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and convulsions (Murphy and Armstrong, 1995). Trichothecenes also are powerful modulators of human immune function and may promote neoplasms, cause autoimmune disease, or have long-term effects on resistance to infectious disease by altering immune response (Berek et al., 2001; Lindsay, 1997).
Sequenced strain information: The strain chosen for sequencing by the International Gibberella zeae Genomics Consortium (IGGR) was PH-1 (NRRL 31084). Fusarium graminearum is the predominant FHB species causing scab of wheat and barley in North America and Europe and is distributed worldwide (O'Donnell et al., 2000, 2004). Isolated in Michigan, PH-1 is highly fertile (Trail and Common, 2000), produces trichothecenes and zearalenone , sporulates abundantly in pure culture and is highly pathogenic to wheat and barley. The strain can be readily transformed and is closely related to strain GZ3639 (NRRL 29169) that has been studied for trichothecene biosynthesis (Brown et al., 2001) and strain 00-676 (NRRL 34097) used as one parent with PH-1 for the genetic map (Gale et al., 2005).