Continental Italy Research Articles

The genus Paeonia L. in Italy: taxonomic survey and revision

Summary The taxa of the genus Paeonia in Italy need a thorough rearrangement of their taxonomy and geographical distributions. The genus Paeonia has always shown bearing many controversies since it was establishment by Linnaeus (1753), who perceived the close relationships between the two units he described. Several authors have successively amended the genus. At the present, the Italian peonies are recognized essentially by the morphological features of their leaves; but usually the shape, the size and the number of leaf-segments is variable in the same population. On account of this, there were, in the past, a lot of uncertainties and some mistakes in their classification. The present study is based on both living populations and the dried collections of several herbaria; field investigation through continental Italy, Sardinia and Sicily was carried out by bio- metrical analyses and was supported by laboratory analysis and bibliographical investigations. As a result, we have identified: Paeonia peregrin...

Crossing the sea en route to Africa: autumn migration of some Accipitriformes over two Central Mediterranean islands

Crossing the sea en route to Africa: autumn migration of some Accipitriformes over two Central Mediterranean islands Observations were made on the autumn migration of Accipitriformes over the islands of Marettimo and Pantelleria, located between western Sicily and Tunisia (Central Mediterranean). A total of 7451 raptors was counted between 24 August and 12 September 2003, mostly adult Honey Buzzards Pernis apivorus - 4045, and Black Kites Milvus migrans - 2489. Mixed-age flocks were regularly reported for the Black Kite (1956 adults and 533 juveniles estimated) confirming information transmission concerning orientation behaviour in this species. Although in the Honey Buzzard juveniles tend to migrate later than adults, crossing the Mediterranean on a broad front mostly after mid-September, we observed some mixed-age flocks, estimating the passage of 3830 adults and 215 juveniles. In particular, over Pantelleria we recorded in seven cases juveniles in flocks of adults heading towards WNW, presumably learning (similarly to juvenile Black Kites) the shortest route over water to reach Africa from this site. A total of 72 Egyptian Vultures Neophron percnopterus - 62 adults, 6 juveniles and 4 sub-adults - was counted over Marettimo confirming that their greatest concentration during autumn migration through Italy occurs at this island. In this species, all juveniles were seen migrating in flocks of adults. Finally, the passage of hundreds of Marsh Harriers Circus aeruginosus was reported, mostly over Pantelleria. Among adult harriers, it was possible to estimate the passage of birds belonging to different sex classes; unlike in the previous studies made in central, southern continental Italy and Malta during autumn migration, adult females outnumbered adult males (372 vs 298 individuals). Finally, considering the huge number of Accipitriformes observed, Pantelleria, so as Marettimo, should be enclosed among Important Bird Areas for the autumn migration of raptors in the Mediterranean basin.

Clinal patterns of human Y chromosomal diversity in continental Italy and Greece are dominated by drift and founder effects

We explored the spatial distribution of human Y chromosomal diversity on a microgeographic scale, by typing 30 population samples from closely spaced locations in Italy and Greece for 9 haplogroups and their internal microsatellite variation. We confirm a significant difference in the composition of the Y chromosomal gene pools of the two countries. However, within each country, heterogeneity is not organized along the lines of clinal variation deduced from studies on larger spatial scales. Microsatellite data indicate that local increases of haplogroup frequencies can be often explained by a limited number of founders. We conclude that local founder or drift effects are the main determinants in shaping the microgeographic Y chromosomal diversity.

Environmental risk factors for type 1 diabetes in Rome and province

Background: In subjects genetically susceptible to type 1 diabetes, exposure to environmental factors during the gestational period, the neonatal period, and the first years of life is thought to play...

The Gly972-->Arg IRS-1 variant is associated with type 1 diabetes in continental Italy.

The Arg(972) insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) variant has been hypothesized to play a role in pancreatic beta-cell stimulus-coupled insulin secretion and survival. We analyzed the relations between type 1 diabetes and the Arg(972) IRS-1 variant. The frequency of the IRS-1 Arg(972) variant was investigated in two independent sets of unrelated patients: a case-control study and a collection of type 1 diabetes simplex families. In the former group, frequency of the IRS-1 Arg(972) variant was significantly increased in the patients (P = 0.0008), conferring an OR of 2.5. Transmission disequilibrium analysis of data obtained from the family set revealed that the Arg(972) IRS-1 variant was transmitted from heterozygous parents to affected probands at a frequency of 70.2% (P < 0.02). Arg(972) IRS-1 frequency showed no significant correlation with HLA genotypic risk for type 1 diabetes. Arg(972) IRS-1 type 1 diabetic patients also had lower fasting plasma concentrations of C-peptide at the time of diagnosis with respect to patients carrying the wild-type IRS-1 (0.49 +/- 0.058, n = 34, and 0.76 +/- 0.066, n = 134, respectively [means +/- SE]; P = 0.051). Our findings suggest a role for Arg(972) IRS-1 in conferring risk for the development of type 1 diabetes.

Alpine lee cyclogenesis influence on air‐sea heat exchanges and marine atmospheric boundary layer thermodynamics over the western Mediterranean during a Tramontane/Mistral event

Data from a recent field campaign are used to analyze the nonstationary aspects of air‐sea heat exchanges and marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) thermodynamics over the Gulf of Lion (GoL) in connection with synoptic forcing. The data set includes measurements made from a wide range of platforms (sea‐borne, airborne, and space‐borne) as well as three‐dimensional atmospheric modeling. The analysis focuses on the 24 March 1998 Tramontane/Mistral event. It is shown that the nonstationary nature of the wind regime over the GoL was controlled by the multistage evolution of an Alpine lee cyclone over the Tyrrhenian Sea (between Sardinia and continental Italy). In the early stage (low at 1014 hPa) the Tramontane flow prevailed over the GoL. As the low deepened (1010 hPa), the prevailing wind regime shifted to a well‐established Mistral that peaked around 1200 UTC. In the afternoon the Mistral was progressively disrupted by a strengthening outflow coming from the Ligurian Sea in response to the deepening low over the Tyrrhenian Sea (1008 hPa) and the channelling induced by the presence of the Apennine range (Italy) and the Alps. In the evening the Mistral was again well established over the GoL as the depression continued to deepen (1002 hPa) but moved to the southeast, reducing the influence of outflow from the Ligurian Sea on the flow over the GoL. The air‐sea heat exchanges and the structure of the MABL over the GoL were observed to differ significantly between the established Mistral period and the disrupted Mistral period. In the latter period, surface latent and sensible heat fluxes were reduced by a factor of 2, on average. During that latter period, air‐sea moisture exchanges were mainly driven by dynamics, whereas during the former period, both winds and vertical moisture gradients controlled moisture exchanges. The MABL was shallower during the latter period (0.7 km instead of 1.2 km) because of reduced surface turbulent heat fluxes and increased wind shear at the top of the MABL in connection with the outflow from the Ligurian Sea. In the period of established Mistral, gravity waves above the MABL were observed to have an influence on the MABL structure. In the perturbed Mistral case this influence was not observed. Over the GoL the ubiquitous presence of sheltered regions (i.e., regions of reduced wind speed in the MABL) in the lee of the three major mountain ranges surrounding the GoL (namely, the Pyrénées, the Massif Central, and the Alps) was shown to have an impact on surface turbulent heat fluxes. The position of these sheltered regions, which evolved with the synoptic conditions, was the key to a correct interpretation of multiplatform surface turbulent flux measurements made over the GoL on 24 March 1998.

Molecular analysis of JC virus genotypes circulating among the Italian healthy population.

JC virus (JCV) is an unique virus, but eight different JCV genotypes and various subtypes have been individuated, with a geographic distribution that has been described in general but still needs to be detailed. To define JCV genotype epidemiology in Italy, the authors collected urine from 211 healthy individuals living in Northern, Central, and Southern Continental Italy, and in the two main Italian islands. As screening, JCV DNA was searched using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) designed to amplify the highly conserved large T (LT) antigen-coding region. Then, to define JCV genotype and trascriptional control region (TCR) organization, fragments of major capsid protein (VP1) and TCR region were amplified and subjected to nucleotide sequencing. The mean frequency of JCV viruria was of 46%, without differences among the four geographically divided groups and between females and males. JCV types 1 and 4 were the most frequently detected, whereas JCV type 2 was rare, and type 3 was found only in one subject. The low frequency of JCV type 2 contrasts with the reported high frequency of this subtype in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), and supports its specific role in PML. The data indicate that JCV genotype epidemiology in Italy is quite different from that of other European countries; moreover, differences between the various Italian regions have been observed. An unexpected high frequency of a new variant of JCV type 4 with a stable point mutation (C --> G) at nucleotide 1851 was found. Furthermore, all the urinary strains had a TCR showing an archetypal organization.

Hydrodroma reinhardi sp. n., a New Species of Water Mites (Acari, Actinedida, Hydrodromidae) from the Mediterranean Area

The male and female of Hydrodroma reinhardi sp. n. are described. It was found in springs and running waters of Montenegro, continental Italy, Sardinia and Corsica.

Permanent diabetes mellitus in the first year of life.

The pathogenesis of permanent diabetes mellitus diagnosed early in life is heterogeneous and, in most cases, not known. We aimed at identifying markers differentiating between non-autoimmune and autoimmune diabetes. The clinical, genetic and epidemiological features of 111 diabetic patients (62 males) who received insulin within 12 months of life were studied. The epidemic curve by age of diabetes onset revealed two subsets of patients at a cutoff of 180 days. In the group with diabetes onset before 180 days ("early onset" permanent diabetes) the analysis of HLA susceptibility heterodimers (available for 21 individuals) showed that 76% had a "protective" HLA genotype for Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus as compared to 11.9% (5/42) of the later onset group. Accordingly, "early onset" children were less likely to have autoimmunity markers (4 out of 26 tested) than children with onset after 180 days (13 out 20 tested) (15.4% vs. 65.0%, p<0.01). Of note, 19 out of 20 (or the 95%) patients who were born on the island of Sardinia, an Italian region where the incidence of Type I diabetes is six times higher than continental Italy (33/100,000/year vs 5/100,000/year), were included in the later onset group (>180 days). Small-for-date birthweight, a possible sign of reduced foetal insulin secretion, was more common in the "early onset" group (OR=9.9, 95%-CI 2.6-38.6). These results, obtained in the largest population-based cohort of diabetic infants hitherto reported, suggest that "early onset" permanent diabetes cases differ from later onset cases and that most of them do not have an autoimmune pathogenesis.

The distribution of HLA class II susceptible/protective haplotypes could partially explain the low incidence of type 1 diabetes in continental Italy (Lazio region).

HLA class II is the primary susceptibility gene to type 1 diabetes and the analysis of HLA class II association could help to clarify the relative weight of genetic contribution to the incidence of the disease. Here we present an extensive typing for HLA class II alleles and their haplotypes in a homogenous population of type 1 diabetic patients (n=134) and controls (n=128) and in simplex (n=100) and multiplex families (n=50) from continental Italy (Lazio region). Among the various haplotypes tested, the DRB1*0301-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0201 was the most frequent found in type 1 diabetic patients and was transmitted in 82% of affected siblings, whereas DRB1*0402-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0302 appeared to have the highest odds ratio (10.4), this haplotype was transmitted in 96.3% of affected siblings, followed by DRB1*0405-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0302, DRB1*0405-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0201, DRB1*0401-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0302 and DRB1*0404-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0302. The following haplotypes showed a significant decreased transmission to diabetic siblings: DRB1*0701-DQA1*0201-DQB1*0303, DR2-DQA1*01-DQB1*0602, DR5-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0301. We suggest that the HLA DR/DQ haplotype/genotype frequencies observed could in part explain the low incidence of type 1 diabetes registered in Lazio region (8.1/100.000/year), for a number of reasons: i) the low frequency, in the general control population, of the most susceptible haplotypes and genotype for type 1 diabetes DRB1*0301-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0201 (14%), and DR4-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0302 (9%) and DRB1*0301-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0201/DR4-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0302 (0.8%) compared to other countries characterised by high incidence rate of the disease, Sardinia and Finland, respectively; ii) a significant lower ratio, in the control population, between the susceptible DRB1*0301-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0201 and the neutral DRB1*0701-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0201 haplotypes compared to the Sardinian population; iii) the high frequency of protection haplotypes/genotypes as the DR5-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0301, and DR5-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0301/DR5-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0301 very common in the control population of Lazio region and the DRB1*1401-DQA1*0101-DQB1*0503 haplotype.

Olive domestication from structure of oleasters and cultivars using nuclear RAPDs and mitochondrial RFLPs

RAPD profiles of 121 olive cultivars were compared to those of 20 natural oleaster populations from eastern and western parts of the Mediterranean Basin. Considering the proximities of RAPD profiles between cultivars and eastern or western oleaster populations, clear differences appeared between groups of cultivars. Cultivars from Israel, Turkey, Syria, Greece and Sicily were, with very few exceptions, close to the eastern group of oleasters; in contrast, clones from Continental Italy, Continental France, Corsica, Spain and the Maghreb were closer to the western group. This genetic structure is coherent with a local selection of cultivars all around the Mediterranean Basin. The cultivars were also characterised for their mitochondrial cytotype. This information led to the conclusion that a great majority (103 of 121) of the cultivars originated by maternal descent from the eastern populations as they carry the mitotypes ME1 or ME2. However, the selection process, which involved hybridisation by pollen from local populations, could have led to an RAPD profile closer to western than to eastern natural populations. Furthermore, the other cultivars with the western mitotypes MOM or MCK generally kept a nuclear RAPD profile close to the profile of western natural populations. Consequently, they could result from exclusively local material (as for Corsica). Cultivars displaying such mitotypes could also have been selected in hybrids or introgressed genotypes between western local oleasters and the introduced eastern varieties used as male parents, restoring an eastern RAPD type. Therefore, the process of olive domestication appeared as disymmetrical: the western Mediterranean is probably a zone where olive trees from the East, once introduced, have been hybridised and back-crossed with the indigenous olives.

Distribution and status of the Apennine hare Lepus corsicanus in continental Italy and Sicily

The current distribution of Lepus corsicanus (recently considered to be a distinct species from L. europaeus) in peninsular Italy and Sicily is presented in this paper. Our data suggest that L. corsicanus is declining markedly in mainland Italy, and perhaps also in Sicily, and that it should be categorised as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Conservation recommendations for this species are presented.

Fine Mapping of the PSORS4 Psoriasis Susceptibility Region on Chromosome 1q21

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder affecting approximately 2% of the Caucasian population. Family clustering of the disease is well established and nonparametric linkage analyzes have mapped disease susceptibility loci on chromosomes 6p (PSORS1) and 17q (PSORS2). Nonconfirmed evidence for linkage is also available for chromosomes 2q 3q, 4q (PSORS3), 8q, 16q, and 20p. We mapped an additional susceptibility locus on chromosome 1q21 (PSORS4). In this study, we have carried out a linkage disequilibrium analysis, in order to achieve a finer localization. We recruited 79 triads from continental Italy and typed them at five loci spanning the 1.6 Mb region generating the highest multipoint LOD scores in our previous linkage study. We observed significant evidence for association with D1S2346 marker (p = 0.004). Results consistent with this data were obtained by typing an independent sample that included 28 patients and 56 controls, originating from Sardinia. In fact, p values of 0.02 were observed with both D1S2346 and D1S2715 markers. We sought further confirmation of our results by typing both samples with two novel markers (140J1C and 140J1D) flanking D1S2346. Marker 140J1D generated a p value of 0.003 in the continental Italy sample where a D1S2346/140J1D haplotype was found with a higher frequency among patients' chromosomes. Altogether our data indicate that the 1q21 susceptibility gene may be localized in the genomic interval spanned by D1S2346 and 140J1D. This report provides evidence supporting the refinement of a non-HLA psoriasis susceptibility locus.

On the cumulative area distribution of natural drainage basins along a coastal boundary

The natural drainage network in a region is analyzed in order to investigate scaling properties and the form of the probability distribution for basin areas along a coastal boundary. The Horton/Strahler approach used in the classical description of the drainage network within a single basin is extended to a series of independent though conterminous basins with outlet to the sea, assuming that a regional area ratio RA, analogous to the Hortonian area ratio, holds for independent basins. A multiplicative factor Rc is also defined as the average ratio between the number of independent basins of a given order ω and those of order ω+1. The cumulative area distribution (CAD) for drainage basins that drain along the coastal boundary is obtained as a power law in the form P[A > a] ∝ a−γ, with γ = log Rc/log RA. The derived form and parameters of the CAD are shown to hold for the Liguria region of Italy (≃5700 km2 in the northern Mediterranean) as well as for the whole continental Italy (≃250,000 km2). The fractal dimension of the regional system encompassing all drainage areas of basins with outlet to the sea is derived in the form 𝒟 = 1/γ. The analytical results obtained are shown to agree with the theoretical expressions already available in the literature for optimal channel networks.

Hybrid origins of honeybees from italy (Apis mellifera ligustica) and sicily (A. m. sicula).

The genetic variability of honeybee populations Apis mellifera ligustica, in continental Italy, and of A. m. sicula, in Sicily, was investigated using nuclear (microsatellite) and mitochondrial markers. Six populations (236 individual bees) and 17 populations (664 colonies) were, respectively, analysed using eight microsatellite loci and DraI restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI)-cytochrome oxidase II (COII) region. Microsatellite loci globally confirmed the southeastern European heritage of both subspecies (evolutionary branch C). However, A. m. ligustica mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) appeared to be a composite of the two European (M and C) lineages over most of the Italian peninsula, and only mitotypes from the African (A) lineage were found in A. m. sicula samples. This demonstrates a hybrid origin for both subspecies. For A. m. ligustica, the most widely exported subspecies, this hybrid origin has long been obscured by the fact that in the main area of queen production (from which most of the previous ligustica bee samples originated) the M mitochondrial lineage is absent, whereas it is present almost everywhere else in Italy. This presents a new view of the evolutionary history of European honeybees. For instance, the Iberian peninsula was considered as the unique refuge for the M branch during the quaternary ice periods. Our results show that the Apennine peninsula played a similar role. The differential distribution of nuclear and mitochondrial markers observed in Italy seems to be a general feature of introgressed honeybee populations. Presumably, it stems from the social nature of the species in which both genome compartments are differentially affected by the two (individual and colonial) reproduction levels.

Adenosine deaminase-acid phosphatase association and the environment: A study in a continental Italian population.

Three hundred fifty newborns from Rome and 351 from Penne were studied in continental Italy. Medium high altitude above sea level and cold winters characterize the area of Penne, while low altitude and very mild winters characterize the area of Rome. An effect of environmental conditions on the association between adenosine deaminase (ADA) and acid phosphatase (ACP1), previously shown in Sardinia, has been confirmed in continental Italy. When compared with expected independent assortment, the proportion of ACP1*A/*A carrying the ADA*2 allele is lower than expected in the lowlands and higher than expected in highlands. In continental Italy there is an interaction among ACP1-ADA genotype, season of conception, and locality. The excess of *A/*A newborns carrying the ADA*2 allele is present only among those conceived in the first half of the year (January-June). Among newborns in Penne conceived in the Spring, the proportion of those with *A/*A genotype is increased and these infants show decreased intrauterine growth. The present data suggest that ADA and ACP1 interact during intrauterine life with effects on development and survival and that such effects are dependent on local environment and season of conception. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 12:214-220, 2000. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

New data on the Zygentoma (Insecta, Apterygota) from Italy

The fauna of Zygentoma from Italy is reviewed and extended by new data. Ctenolepisma guadianica and Allacrotelsa kraepelini are new to Italy (the second one is also a new genus for this country). Neoasterolepisma crassipes is new to continental Italy and Atelura formicaria is new to Sicily. Neoasterolepisma angustothoracica (Grassi & Rovelli, 1890) n. comb., is redescribed. The Zygentoma fauna of Italy is composed of 24 species, 2 of Ateluridae (Atelura formicaria and Proatelurina pseudolepisma), 16 of Lepismatidae (Allacrotelsa kraepelini, Ctenolepisma algharbica, C. ciliata, C. guadianica, C. lineata, C. longicaudata, C. targionii, Lepisma chlorosoma, L. saccharina, Neoasterolepisma angustothoracica, N. balcanica, N. crassipes, N. wasmanni, Thermobia domestica, Tricholepisma aurea and T. gyriniformis) and 6 of Nicoletiidae (Coletinia maggi, C. setosula, C. subterranea, Coletinia sp. III, Lepidospora sp. and Nicoletia phytophila). A key to the identification of all these species is given.

Genetic, Epidemiologic and Social Features of Colour Blindness

Red-green colour blindness is an inherited defect which shows interesting epidemiologic and social features. Its mean frequency within the indigenous population of Calabria (Southern Italy) was found to be 5.25%, one of the highest in continental Italy, showing a decreasing trend from the province of Cosenza (Northern Calabria, 6.23%), to the province of Catanzaro (Central Calabria, 4.65%) and the province of Reggio Calabria (Southern Calabria, 3.43%). A similar trend has not been previously recognized, according to the recent literature, because no other region has been fully screened. The mean frequency (7.40%) of red-green colour blindness in the Albanian ethnic minority in Calabria is significantly different from that of the indigenous population, and this minority does not have the protanomalous phenotype. Screening showed that 96% of the colour-blind students attending middle school and 65% of the colour-blind university students are not aware of their anomalous vision status. Thus, screening during the school years would greatly help affected students to choose their future professional orientation.

Multiple sclerosis in Móstoles, central Spain.

Until relatively recently southern Europe was regarded as having a medium to low multiple sclerosis prevalence, of about 20 or less per 100,000. However, recent studies in Sardinia, Sicily, continental Italy, Cyprus and Spain have yielded higher MS prevalence rates, between 32 and 102.6 per 100,000. We present the results of a prevalence study of MS in the municipality of M6stoles, central Spain. To ascertain the prevalence of multiple sclerosis in M6stoles (195,979 inhabitants), an intensive study was undertaken using several sources of information. We used the Poser criteria in diagnosis. There were 85 patients (53 women and 32 men) classified as definite or probable, prevalence 43.4/100,000 (95% CI, 34.7 to 53.7). The incidence rate was 3.8/100,000/year (95% CI, 2.7 to 5.3) in the last 5 years. Mean age on prevalence day was 38.8+/-10.9 years. Mean age at onset was 31.7+/-9.3 years. Mean interval between initial symptoms and diagnosis was 1.7 years. Mean duration of disease was 7.6+/-6.1 years. Overall, 70.6% had a relapsing-remitting course, 18.8% had a primary progressive and 10.5% had a secondary progressive. Mean EDSS score was 2.7+/-1.9. The M6stoles study confirms the conclusions of previous smaller population studies that Spain is a moderately high or medium MS risk zone.

Allozyme variation in cork oak (Quercus suber L.): the role of phylogeography and genetic introgression by other Mediterranean oak species and human activities

Genetic variation in the cork oak (Quercus suber L.) was investigated using 11 loci from seven enzyme systems in 40 populations sampled over the entire distribution of this species in the western Mediterranean Basin. Mean heterozygosity values over the polymorphic loci (Ho=0.283), the percentage of polymorphic populations (M=0.76), and the total genetic diversity (Ht=0.31) from which 11% was accounted for among-population variation, are among the highest recorded in oak species. In contrast to previous results in holm oak (Q. ilex L.), another evergreen species in the same area, cork oak possessed a smaller allele pool and a lower average number of alleles per locus and per population (A=2.0). More particularly, very few low-frequency alleles were observed in cork oak except for eight populations in which allozyme polymorphism at locus Pgi 1, diagnostic between both species, indicates that these low-frequency alleles are introgressed from holm oak. On the basis of the genetic distance estimated from allozyme frequencies, 32 of the 40 cork oak populations studied were classified into two very distinct sets which also corresponded to distinct geographic areas. One set gathered together the 18 populations from the Iberian peninsula and two adjacent areas in France, i.e. the centre of origin of cork oak, according to paleobotanical data. This set was characterized by a larger allele pool, a higher within-population genetic diversity and a lower differentiation between populations than was observed in the other set, which comprised the populations from North Africa, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, continental Italy and the region of Provence (southeastern France). In these more southern and eastern disjunct areas, cork oak migration from Iberia may have occurred at different periods since the end of the Tertiary. The possible effect of human activity on cork oak genetic structure, i.e. the selection of good-quality cork, acorn over-use for animal food, and even human nutrition, is discussed.