Fusarium verticillioides is a fungal plant pathogen. It causes a disease in rice called bakanae, which is japanese and means "foolish seedlings". The afflicted plants are at best infertile with empty panicles, producing no edible grains; at worst, they are incapable of supporting their own weight, topple over, and die (hence "foolish seedling"). The earliest known report of bakanae is from 1828. Bakanae affects rice crops in Asia, Africa, and North America; in 2003, the International Rice Research Institute estimated bakanae-related crop losses at between 20% and 50%. Fusarium verticillioides is the causal agent of kernel and ear rot of maize. This destructive disease occurs virtually everywhere that maize is grown worldwide. In years with high temperatures, drought, and heavy insect damage, the disease can significantly diminish crop quality. The most significant economic impact of Fusarium verticillioides is its ability to produce fumonisin mycotoxins. Various diseases caused by fumonisins have been reported in animals, such as liver and kidney cancer. In 2003, fumonisin B1, the fumonisin produced most abundantly by Fusarium verticillioides, was added to the California Proposition 65 List of Substances Known to Cause Cancer.

Browse this genome in the Ensembl Genomes website.