Genetic and Phenotypic Characterization of Populations from Economic and Wild Host Plants in Iran.

Grey mould disease, caused by various species, poses a significant threat to important plants worldwide. This study aimed to characterize populations on strawberry and roses, economically relevant host plants, and raspberry, used as a representative of wild plants, in Iran. A total of 389 isolates were collected and analyzed based on morphological features and haplotyping using molecular markers, transposable elements ( and ), and fungicide response. Moreover, 60 isolates were used for phylogenetic analysis based on the gene, and 16 selected isolates from each clade were further characterized using the , , and genes. The results revealed the presence of three distinct species, , , and , among the sampled isolates. Additionally, this study reports for the first time the presence of on strawberry and isolates belonging to group S in Iran. These findings provide insights into the diversity and composition of populations on Iranian host plants.