Fusarium graminearum is a fungus which infects feed
corn, causing a disease known as gibberella ear rot.
It contaminates the grain by releasing mycotoxins, such
as deoxynivalenol, which cause a wide array of ailments
when eaten by pigs, including vomiting, feed refusal and
decreased weight gain. By spring 2007, Pauls and his colleagues hope to have
mapped genes expressed in infected corn tissues, and identified
corn genes similar to those differentially expressed
between resistant and susceptible wheat and barley varieties.
Wheat and barley are affected by the same fungus. They
also plan to have tested genes associated with ferulic acid
synthesis for their association with Fusarium resistance.