Global occurrence database of Leveillula taurica (Lév.) Arnaud 1921 (synonym: Erysiphe taurica Léveillé 1851, Phyllactinia taurica Bradshaw 2025) - Phylum Ascomycota, Order Helotiales, Family Erysiphaceae - between 1851 and 2023

This dataset compiles historical and contemporary records of the powdery mildew fungus Leveillula taurica (Lév.) Arnaud 1921 (synonyms: Erysiphe taurica Léveillé 1851, Phyllactinia taurica Bradshaw 2025), a member of the Ascomycota phylum, Helotiales order, and Erysiphaceae family. The data were sourced from peer-reviewed literature, herbarium specimens, GenBank entries, technical reports, and curated databases. Covering the period from 1851 to 2023, the dataset includes 1,468 georeferenced occurrence records. Each record is enriched with contextual information including host plant species, geographic origin, sampling year, DNA sequence availability, reproductive structures, and microscopic features such as asci and ascospore counts.Our comprehensive compilation indicates that L. taurica has been reported on hosts from 192 plant genera across 60 families. The ten most frequently reported host genera represent 48% of all records, with Capsicum spp. (pepper) being the most common, making up 16% of occurrences. The fungus exhibits a cosmopolitan distribution, with the highest concentration of records from Central Asia (40%). Its occurrence notably overlaps with major pepper-producing regions globally. The increasing number of records over time suggests expanding documentation and possibly an actual rise in its geographic and host range. The broad global distribution of L. taurica may be attributed to its adaptability to diverse agroecosystems (Massire, Cussonneau et al., 2025, in press).Massire A.*, Cussonneau F.*, Elbelt, S., Constant C., Bardin M., Moury B., Lefebvre V. (2025) Powdery mildew caused by Leveillula taurica (synonym: Phyllactinia taurica): a global challenge for pepper production. Molecular Plant Pathology, in press. *These authors contributed equally.