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. © 2024 The American Phytopathological Society.
TZANETAKIS, I.E, AKNADIBOSSIAN, V., SPAK, J., CONSTABLE, F., HARPER, S.J., HAMMOND, J., CANDRESSE, T., FOLIMONOVA, S.Y., FREITAS-ASTÚA, J., FUCHS, M., JELKMANN, W., MALIOGKA, V.I., MARAIS, A., MARTIN, R.R., MOLLOV, D., VIDALAKIS, G., ABOUGHANEM-SABANADZOVIC, N., AL RWAHNIH, M., ALABI, O.J., ALIOTO, D., ATANDA, H.Y., BAGI, F., BARANWAL, V.K., BARBOSA, C., BAR-JOSEPH, M., BATISTA LE RIVEREND, L., BELIEN, T., BENÍTEZ-GALEANO, M.J., BENNYPAUL, H., BERTACCINI, A., BESTER, R., BLOUIN, A.G., BLYSTAD, D.-R., BOTERMANS, M., BOZAN, O., BRAKTA, A., BRANS, Y., BULAJIC, A., CAGLAYAN, K., CATARA, A., CHOUEIRI, E., CIESLINSKA, M., COOK, G., CUI, W., DA GRAÇA, J., DAVINO, S., DELMIGLIO, C., DEWDNEY, M.M., DI SERIO, F., DIAZ-LARA, A., DIGIARO, M., DJELOUAH, K., DONG, Y.F., DONOVAN, N., DRUCIAREK, T.Z., DURAN-VILA, N., ELÇI, E., ESQUIVEL-FARIÑA, A., FALL, M.L., FAN, X.D., FIGUEROA, J., FIORE, N., FOWKES, A.R., FOX, A., FRÁNOVÁ, J., FUCHS, R., GAAFAR, Y.Z.A., GARCÍA, M.L., GHOSH, D., GIRARDI, E., GLASA, M., GOMEZ TALQUENCA, S., GRATZ, A., GRITSENKO, D., HAJERI, S., HAJIZADEH, M., HAMBORG, Z., HO, T., HOLEVA, M., HOLKAR, S.K., HORNER, M., HURTADO-GONZALES, O.P., IPPOLITO, A., ISAC, V., IWANAMI, T., JOFRE-Y-GARFIAS, A.E., JORDAN, R., KATIS, N., KOLONIUK, I., KONINGS, H., KRIZANAC, I., KRUEGER, R., KYRYCHENKO, A., LARANJEIRA, F., LAVAGI-CRADDOCK, I., LEVY, A., LICCIARDELLO, G., LU, Q.-Y., MACFARLANE, S.A., MARCONE, C., MAREE, H.J., MARGARIA, P., MARTIC, A., MASSART, S., MATHIOUDAKIS, M.M., MATIC, S., MAVRIC PLESKO, I., MEEKES, E.T.M., MEHLE N., MELZER M.J., MENG, B., MENZEL, W., MILJANIC, V., MINAFRA, A., MINUTOLO, M., MITRA, A., MORENO, P., NAVARRO, L., NAVARRO, B., NERVA, L., OKIC, A., OLMOS, A., ÖNELGE, N., OSUNDAHUNSI, B., PALACIOS, M.F., PALLAS, V., PANNO, S., PEREZ-EGUSQUIZA, Z., POUDEL-WARD B., RADISEK, S., RAMOS-GONZÁLEZ, P.L., RAMTEKE, P., RANABHAT, N.B., RIVAREZ, M.P.S., RIVAS, F., ROENHORST, A., ROY, A., RUIZ-GARCÍA, A.B., SABANADZOVIC, S., SAFÁROVÁ, D., SALDARELLI, P., SALEM, N., SANAHUJA SOLSONA, G., SCHOEN, R., SHARMA, S.K., SHILTS, T., SIERRA-MEJIA, A., SINGH, S., SKELTON, A., SKORIC, D., STAINTON, D., STAJNER, N., STAROVIC, M., STUCHI, E., SVOBODA, P., TAHZIMA, R., TANG, J., TESSITORI, M., THERMOZ, J.-P., THOMPSON, E., THOMPSON, J., TREBICKI, P., TURINA, M., ULUBAS SERCE, C., UMBLE, J., VALIUNAS, D., VARALLYAY, E., VARMA, A., VARVERI, C., VÁSQUEZ-GUTIÉRREZ, U., VAZQUEZ-IGLESIAS, I., VEERAKONE, S., VILLAMOR, D.E., VIVES, M.C., VONCINA D., WANG, J., WESTENBERG, M., WETZEL, T., WINTER, S., WRIGHT, G., WULFF, N.A., XU, W.X., YOKOMI, R., ZHOU, C., ZIKELI, K., ZINDOVIC, J.
0
0191-2917
65242
null; Fruit; Ornamentals; Small fruits; Tree fruits; Viruses and viroids; SISTEMA VEGETAL INTENSIVO - INIA; INIA SALTO GRANDE.
Series
Plant Disease, April 2025, Volume 109, Issue 4, pages 736-755. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-24-0745-FE -- OPEN ACCESS.
