A cosmetic company is investigating whether DNA from ancient peoples may be influencing modern Japanese people's propensity to get freckles and age spots.
Tomonori Motokawa, chief researcher of Pola Orbis Holdings Inc., is working with the National Museum of Nature and Science to investigate why there appear to be two distinct groupings in the Japanese population of MC1R protein genes in melanin-producing cells. One of the groupings appears to be associated with age spots.
His hypothesis is that the Jomon Pottery Culture, an ancient culture known to have been present on the Japanese archipelago from about 15,000 years ago, and the Yayoi Pottery Culture, which appeared in the third to fourth century B.C., are the sources of the different genes.
The Yayoi culture is thought to have been brought to Japan by groups of people migrating from the Korean Peninsula. Motokawa, 37, believes Jomon peoples may have been the source of the gene group with a higher tendency to freckles, while the migrations associated with the Yayoi culture may have brought genes with a lower propensity.
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Kenichi Shinoda, chief of the human history group at the museum and expert in human bone DNA studies, said: "If Motokawa's research helps identify how far back we can trace gaps in the distribution of genes between regions, we will be able to provide more insightful interpretations of the origin of the Japanese."
Pola Orbis Holdings Inc. hopes to use the research as the basis for tests at stores to decide whether a customer's skin is prone to age spots.
