## 1 Introduction  
Hop (_Humulus hupulus_ L.) is a dioecious, herbaceous perennial climbing plant, and it grows endemic in the temperate zone of the world, including Italy, where its biodiversity is varied. Indeed, the species contains a great quantity of hereditary information and every single individual is virtually unique from the genetic point of view, due to the high polymorphism of the numerous loci present [1]. The exploitation of the wild hop germplasm biodiversity has been, and is still fundamental for breeding, both for selection and as the donor of peculiar photochemical profiles (i.e., aroma and flavor) in cross programs [2]; especially, in the perspective of facing climate change emergency, within wild hop germplasm, characters of resistance would be individuate. To preserve and comprehend the existent hop biodiversity, its genetic and phytochemical characterization will enhance the agricultural sustainability and competitiveness, as requested by the European Green Deal 2023-2030 [3]. To evaluate genetic diversity, one of the most useful, efficient and reliable method, is the use of Single Sequence Repeated (SSR) markers [4; 5; 6; 7; 8]. Recently, [PERSON] et al. [5] studied the genetic variability in eight Croatian hop populations, and the results highlighted the high genetic diversity in the wild hop germplasm but low genetic differentiation within the studied hop populations. Together with the genetic characterization, to valorize hop biodiversity, it is essential the evaluation of the secondary metabolite profile. The compounds that mainly characterize hop, important for the brewing industry and for the pharmacological sector, are bitter acids and essential oils. Indeed, bitter acids and, specifically, di- or tri-prenylated phloroglucinol derivatives and their oxidation products confer bitterness to beer, improve foam stability, suppress gushing and reduce contamination [9; 10; 11; 12]; moreover, bitter acids, as demonstrated by experiments on mice, have antidepressant and sedative activity [11; 13]. The synthesis and the complex profile of hop essential oils is highly genotype-dependent and strongly influenced by environmental and cultural conditions [14]; the hop aromatic profile is constituted mainly by three chemical groups: hydrocarbons (50-80%), oxygenated compounds (20-50%) and organosulfur compounds (<1%) [15]. Among hydrocarbons, the most representative fraction is represented by terpen that, being highly volatile, tend to vanish during the brewing process [16; 17; 18]. The oxygenated fraction, composed by a mixture of alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, epoxides, esters and acids, is H\({}_{2}\)O-soluble and significantly contributes to beer organoleptic properties [17]. Finally, the organosulfur fraction is very complex and, even though it has a low flavor threshold, can strongly affect the taste and smell of beer, conferring off flavors [14]. Substances of interest for the final aroma with low threshold and belonging to different fractions, are, for example, damascenone and \(\beta\)-ionone, or aliphatic-volatile compounds such as ethyl 2-methylpropanoate, methyl 2-methylbutanoate, 1,5-octadien-3-one, nonanal and 1-octen-3-one, responsible for floral and fruity notes [19]. In a recent study of [PERSON] et al. [20], the genetic and phytochemical diversity of wild hops from Corsica were studied, showing interesting characters such as the peculiar presence in the Corsican hop essential oil of zingiberene. Italian hops were instead previously studied by [PERSON] et al. [21], and they observed high xanthohumol and \(\alpha\)-acid contents compared to previously reported results of phytochemical analysis on European wild hops. Interesting results were found also in the aromatic fraction, where sellinene isomers reached values above 40% in the essential oils isolated from six samples.