With the UK Chief Medical Officer last month highlighting the “catastrophic threat” of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (see Nature 495, 141; 2013), we suggest that the United Kingdom re-evaluates its misplaced over-regulation of importing fungi for research. This is obstructing a potentially effective route towards alleviating the antibiotics crisis.

Some of the most successful antimicrobials, among other pharmaceuticals, are derived from fungi — including penicillins, cephalosporins, cyclosporins, griseofulvins and pneumocandin. Given that only 2–12% of all estimated fungal species have been described and less than half of those in the GenBank database have been named, unknown fungi may have the greatest potential for yielding new pharmaceuticals.

As implemented, The Plant Health (England) Order of 2005 requires an import licence for all live fungi. Licensing requires the species to be named and risk-assessed, preventing researchers from using any unknown fungi.

The biggest risk to plant and human health is from fungal spores entering the country accidentally: for example, in dust and soil on vehicles, shoes, packaging, migrating birds or insects, and horticultural products. Considering the scale of this unregulated import of spores, we suggest that the constraints imposed by current policies are unrealistic as well as counterproductive.