Genetic structure of Tuber mesentericum Vitt. based on polymorphism at the ribosomal DNA ITS

Tuber mesentericum fruit bodies are in increasing demand on the food market and are an important economic resource for southern Italy, their major production area. Because molecular studies on this truffle species are very scarce, we analyzed ITS1 and ITS2 nucleotide variability of 126 ascocarps of T. mesentericum collected in different European areas, mainly southern Italy. The results of haplotype distribution, analysis of molecular variance, and spatial analysis of molecular variance analyses show strong genetic structuring of the samples collected in the different geographic areas, confirmed by parsimony and distance analyses. In particular, the Italian samples seem to be a well-distinguished group.