Assessment of genetic variation in the Anatolian populations of Andricus gallaetinctoriae ( Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)

Abstract

In this study PCR-RFLP method was conducted to reveal intraspecific mitochondrial DNA variation of oak gall wasp species Andricus gallaetinctoriae (Oliver, 1791) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) collected from the Anatolian part of Turkey. A total of 104 specimens from 13 localities produced 15 distinct haplotypes. Data analyses estimated average haplotype diversity as 0. 3415 and mean nucleotide diversity as 0. 02572. Pairwise comparisons of populations supported the presence of genetic divergence between eastern and western populations. Our current results may also be highly correlated with well-marked geographic barriers dividing species/lineage distribution in Anatolia.