Little is known about the nature and extent of genetic diversity in potato tuber moth Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller),
Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Analysis of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) has the potential to become a powerful
new DNA fingerprinting technique for studying genetic relationships and genetic diversity in insects. Random amplified
polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR)was used to examine variation in three governorates in the Delta
of Egypt. The objective of this study was to provide baseline information on the population structure of potato tuber worm in
Egypt. The applicability of CTAB -based DNA extraction protocol provided suitable for AFLP analysis. Potato tuber worm
adults were collected from potato fields in the major production regions in the Egypt . We used 20 random 10-oligomer primer
individuals and 179 polymorphic AFLP bands were used to infer the geographic population structure of potato tuber worm.
This study provides baseline data for the molecular characterization of potato tuber worm populations, which will aid in tracking
the origin of future invasions within Egypt.