Fusarium fungi are responsible for wilt and rot diseases in a diverse range of crops. Several Fusarium species produce fusaric acid, an important virulence factor and mycotoxin. Besides being toxic for humans, animals and plants, it was demonstrated that fusaric acid reduces survival and competition abilities of bacterial species able to antagonize Fusarium, due to its negative effects on viability and the production of antibiotics effective against these fungi. These results encouraged us to search for a soil bacterial strain able to biodegrade and detoxify fusaric acid. Burkholderia ambifaria T16, a strain isolated from the rhizosphere of barley plants, was capable of growing with fusaric acid as the sole carbon, nitrogen and energy source. This bacterium also detoxified fusaric acid when applied on barley seedlings. As fusaric acid biodegradation is not a common characteristic among bacteria, we aimed to identify the genes and metabolic pathways involved in FA catabolism. During my talk, I will share the results obtained as well as the challenges encountered in the process of deciphering the genetic basis of fusaric acid biodegradation in Burkholderia ambifaria T16.