Streamlining Global Germplasm Exchange: Integrating Scientific Rigor and Common Sense to Exclude Phantom Agents from Regulation

Abstract

This collaborative work by over 180 researchers from 40+ countries addresses the challenges posed by “phantom agents”—putative pathogenic agents named in literature without supporting data on their existence. Those agents remain on regulatory lists, creating barriers in trade and plant certification. Historically identified based solely on symptoms, these agents lack isolates or sequence data, making reliable detection or risk assessment impossible. After reviewing over 120 such agents across 10 key plant genera, we recommend their removal from regulatory lists and call for revised standards aligned with modern diagnostics. This effort seeks to streamline germplasm exchange, benefiting global agriculture by removing the constraints imposed by phantoms.