What is Genomic Breeding?: Japanese Strawberries Continue to Evolve - The Future of the Strawberry Industry Transformed by Genomes and Data (Part 4)

The Era of Reading the Strawberry's "Blueprint"

There is a term that cannot be avoided when considering the future of the strawberry industry.

That is genomic breeding.

It might sound a bit difficult.

However, the concept is not that complicated.

A genome is like a "blueprint" that a living organism possesses.

Just as humans have individual personalities, strawberries have their own unique characteristics.

Sweet ones.
Those with a strong aroma.
Those with firm flesh.
Those with beautiful color.
Those resistant to disease.
Those that bear many fruits.

Some of these traits are related to the genetic information that strawberries carry.

Genomic breeding is a method that aims to create better strawberries by reading that blueprint.

Traditional breeding was a method of selecting after growing

In conventional strawberry breeding, parents were selected, crossed, many seedlings were grown, and superior ones were chosen from among them.

This is a very important method.

There are many things that cannot be known without actually growing them.

What will the taste be like?
Will the shape be stable?
Is it susceptible to disease?
Is the yield sufficient?
Is it easy for farmers to grow?

These things need to be observed over time in fields or greenhouses.

However, this method takes time.

This is because many candidates must be grown, observed for years, and narrowed down little by little.

A long time and significant effort are required before a new variety is born.

Using genomic information makes it easier to establish prospects at an early stage

In genomic breeding, we refer to the genetic information held by strawberries.

For example, even at the seedling stage, it may become possible to predict what characteristics that seedling might possess in the future.

Of course, genomic information alone cannot tell us everything.

Even with the same variety, taste and yield change depending on how it is grown and the climate.

Even so, by using genomic information, it becomes easier to identify promising candidates from among many options at an early stage.

This is like climbing a mountain with a map.

Even with a map, you won't reach the summit unless you actually walk. But with a map, it becomes easier to understand which direction to head.

Genomic breeding is the same.

It can be said that it is a technology that adds a scientific map to the experience and observations of breeders.

It is not a technology that eliminates intuition and experience

What is important here is that genomic breeding does not deny the experience of breeders and farmers.

In fact, it is the opposite.

Breeders, from their many years of experience, observe things like:

This parent tends to produce fragrance.
This line has soft fruit.
This combination is difficult to stabilize in shape.
This variety is weak against heat.
This variety tends to have stable yields.

They are looking at these things.

Genomic breeding supports such experience with scientific information.

In other words, it is a
technology that draws auxiliary lines of data for human eyes and experience
.

When words like AI and data come up, some people might feel that human work will be replaced.

However, in the world of strawberries, human observation and judgment will continue to be important.

Genomic information is something used to make those judgments stronger.

It is precisely because strawberry breeding is difficult that the genome is useful

Creating strawberry varieties is not simple.

This is because it is not enough to look only at sweetness.

Taste.
Aroma.
Size.
Color.
Shape.
Firmness.
Yield.
Disease resistance.
Heat tolerance.
Shelf life.
Ease of transport.

It is necessary to consider many conditions simultaneously.

Moreover, trying to improve one characteristic can sometimes weaken another.

It may be sweet, but too soft.
It may be large, but the shape is easily distorted.
It may have a high yield, but the taste is lacking.
It may have a long shelf life, but the aroma is weak.

Breeding is the process of searching for better varieties while balancing these factors.

That is why it is important to use genomic information to consider which parents should be combined and which candidates should be focused on.

Future strawberries will evolve through both science and sensibility

Strawberries are not fruits that can be evaluated by numbers alone.

High sugar content does not necessarily mean it is delicious.
Being firm does not necessarily mean it is good.
Being large does not necessarily mean it will be appreciated.

The excitement when eating it.
The spread of the aroma.
The way it melts in the mouth.
The beauty of its appearance.
Its splendor as a gift.

These emotional values are also indispensable for strawberries.

Therefore, what is needed for future strawberry breeding is neither science alone nor sensibility alone.

The science of genomic information.
The experience of breeders.
The observational skills of farmers.
The senses of consumers.
Evaluation in the market.

By combining these, Japanese strawberries will continue to evolve even further.

Summary of this article

The genome is like a blueprint possessed by living organisms.

Genomic breeding is a method of efficiently finding better strawberries while referring to that blueprint.

However, genomic information does not determine everything; it is important to combine it with the experience of breeders and farmers.

In the next installment, we will look at why strawberry breeding is so difficult, under the theme 'Strawberries are actually very complex crops'.