Integrated Protection in Oak Forests IOBC-WPRS Bulletin Vol. 101, 2014 pp. 221-225 221 Genetic variation in Sardinian populations of the Green oak leaf roller Tortrix viridana L. (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae) Giuseppe Serra 1 , Giovanni Battista Maestrale 2 , Mariella Baratti 3 , Andrea Lentini 4 1 CNR - Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi, UOS Sassari, Traversa la Crucca n. 3, 07100 Sassari-Li Punti (SS), Italy; 2 CNR, Istituto di Genetica delle Popolazioni, Trav. la Crucca n. 3, 07100 Sassari-Li Punti (SS), Italy; 3 CNR, Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi, UOS Firenze, Via Madonna del Piano n. 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy; 4 Università di Sassari, Dipartimento di Agraria, Viale Italia n. 39, 07100 Sassari (SS), Italy e-mail: g.serra@ise.cnr.it Abstract: A preliminary analysis of COI and COII (1875 bp) gene variability was carried out in Sardinian populations of the Green oak leaf roller Tortrix viridana. The aim of the study was to investigate the genetic structure and mitochondrial haplotype variation in populations associated with deciduous (Quercus pubescens) and evergreen (Q. suber and Q ilex) oaks. Forty-four haplotypes out of 87 individuals were found: three haplotypes showed a high frequency (23%, 16% and 10%) and were largely shared among populations. Hierarchical AMOVA showed no significant differentiation grouping populations for geographic areas or oak species, in spite of significant divergences structuring populations for different duration in egg development (early- vs late-hatching). However a high haplotype diversity (H = 0.94) and a low nucleotide diversity (π = 0.004) have been observed. Key words: COI, COII, mitochondrial haplotypes, haplotype diversity, nucleotide diversity Introduction The Green oak leaf roller Tortrix viridana is one of the most harmful pest of the Palearctic oaks. Egg hatching time of T. viridana is strictly connected with the bud burst phenology of the different oak species. In fact, the young larvae bore inside the flushing buds and their development is synchronized with the bud burst (Du Merle & Mazet, 1983; Hunter, 1992). The wide variability in budding within the different oak species determines the evolution of T. viridana populations which are adapted to a particular phenological type of oak and are characterized by different duration of summer diapause and hatching dates (Du Merle, 1999; Ivasov et al., 2002; Tiberi et al., 2005; Serra & Lentini, 2012). Differences in egg development of the moth have a genetic basis (Du Merle, 1999; Ivasov et al., 2002) but, despite its importance as a forest pest, there are few studies about the genetic characterization of its populations in relation to different host species (Simchuk et al., 1999; Schroeder & Degen, 2008). Since no researches are known for Southern Europe, a COI and COII gene preliminary analysis was carried out in Sardinian populations of T. viridana. The aim of the study was to investigate for the first time the genetic structure and variation of mitochondrial haplotypes in populations associated with deciduous (Quercus pubescens) and evergreen (Q. suber and Q. ilex) oak species characterized by different bud burst phenology.