Institute of Fruit Tree and Tea Science, NARO

In order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of fruit tree and tea breeding, we work on developing genome information databases, the data-driven breeding system and genome editing techniques.
Breeding of fruit tree and tea, which are perennial crops, demands huge money due to the long years of breeding and vast field. The use of genome data via genome analysis is attracting attention to solve these problems. So far, we have re-sequenced apple 'Fuji' and performed whole-genome sequencing of grape 'Shine Muscat'. High-precision markers linked to apple leaf spot disease resistance and chestnut easy astringent peeling have been developed and established methods to select progenies with these traits at an early developmental stage. We have also succeeded in producing genome edited plants for apples and grapes. Furthermore, we accelerate data-driven breeding technologies in order to achieve the efficient breeding of fruit tree and tea cultivars with epoch-making characteristics, and work on the development of genomic selection(GS) for agronomically important traits that could not be handled by small number markers and genome-wide association study(GWAS). We are also engaged in the construction of the genome database of major fruit tree and tea cultivars and genome editing techniques that do not require the removal of foreign genes by obtaining null segregants.