Unraveling the mystery of the introduction of loquat to Japan! -Genomic study of loquat in the world -

A research team led by Dr. Shinji Fukuda of the Faculty of Agriculture, Saga University and the Nagasaki Agricultural and Forestry Technical Development Center conducted the world’s first comparison of the genome sequences of Japanese loquat cultivars, loquats wild in various regions of Japan, and loquats collected from around the world, and uncovered the history of loquats. As a result, it was confirmed that the history of loquat cultivars is correct, i.e., the present loquat cultivars were bred from varieties such as ‘Mogi’ and ‘Tanaka’, which were seeds introduced from China at the end of the Edo period.

It was also clarified that loquat varieties that are wild throughout Japan either originally grew in Japan or were introduced from China thousands of years ago. These results will lead to new developments in loquat breeding in the future. The findings were published on June 23 in the British scientific journal Nature Research.

It is hoped that this research will lead to future breeding using native Japanese strains and the development of new varieties unique to Japan, thereby revitalizing the loquat industry.

Reference
日本へのビワ伝来の謎を紐解く！～世界のビワのゲノム研究を実施～ – 佐賀大学広報室
https://www.saga-u.ac.jp/koho/press/2022062325423
(Linked to the article in Japanese)