Fungal plant pathogens, especially rust fungi ( P ucciniales), are well known for their complex life cycles, which include phases of sexual and asexual reproduction. The effect of asexual multiplication on population genetic diversity has been investigated in the poplar rust fungus M elampsora larici‐populina using a nested hierarchical sampling scheme. Four hierarchical levels were considered: leaf, twig, tree and site. Both...

The advent of molecular epidemiology has greatly improved our ability to identify the population sources and track the pathogen movement. Yet the wide spatial and temporal scales usually considered are useful only to infer historical migration pathways. In this study, Bayesian genetic assignments and a landscape epidemiology approach were combined to unravel genetic origin and annual spread during a single epidemic of a plant...