Permanent Preservation of Orange Subfamily Plants

TOMOYA AKIHAMA (Agri-Bio. Genetic Resources Institute)

NOBUMASA NITO, YUKIYOSHI KATAYAMA (The Faculty of Agriculture, Saga University)

Citrus and its related species are distributed widely throughout Asia and have deep relationships with people's lives. Generally, citrus plants consist of Citrus, Poncirus and Fortunella. The fruit of a citrus plant, called the hesperidium, consists of special juice sacks. Only certain varieties of Citrus and Fortunella fruits are eaten, but other related species are used in people's lives. Citrus and its related species are called orange subfamily, and they include 203 species in 33 genera. The Faculty of Agriculture, Saga University, conducts phylogenetic preservation of orange subfamily species, subsidized by a phylogenetic preservation project of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. The scale of genetic resources preserved at Saga University is one of the largest in the world. In this issue, we introduce to you some of the unique fruits.