Stevia plant having high rebaudioside n content

Abstract

The present invention provides a stevia plant body containing a higher amount of useful steviol glycosides, such as RebN and RebD, than known stevia species. The present invention also provides a method for producing such a stevia plant body, and an extract or the like obtained from such a plant body.

Description

Stevia plant with high rebaudioside N content The present invention relates to a stevia plant having a high content of useful steviol glycosides such as rebaudioside N and D, and a screening method therefor, etc. In order to meet the diversifying needs of consumers, various beverages have been developed and are commercially available. Sugars such as sucrose are commonly added to beverages for the purpose of sweetening, but the health effects of excessive intake have been pointed out, and the need for lower-calorie, naturally derived sweeteners is increasing. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a functional sweetener composition containing vitamins, a high-intensity sweetener, and a sweetness improving composition. Steviol glycosides are known as sweet components contained in stevia extracts. Stevia extracts are mainly extracted and refined from stevia leaves. Stevia is a perennial plant of the Asteraceae family native to Paraguay in South America, and its scientific name is Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni. Stevia contains components that are about 300 times sweeter than sugar, so it is cultivated to extract these sweet components and use them as natural sweeteners. As steviol glycosides, the existence of various glycosides such as rebaudioside A (hereinafter, "rebaudioside" may be abbreviated as "Reb"), RebB, RebC, RebD, RebE, RebM, and RebN has been reported (Patent Document 2). Among the various steviol glycosides, for example, RebA is evaluated as a sweetener with high sweetness and good quality sweetness, and is widely used. Other steviol glycosides are also being discovered that have their own unique sweetness and associated tastes. In such a situation, a stevia plant containing 2.17% RebN per dry leaf is known (Patent Document 3). WO2007 / 070224WO2010 / 038911WO2019 / 104253 RebN and RebD cannot be obtained in large quantities from natural stevia plants, and there is a need to efficiently obtain them. The present invention provides a Stevia plant containing useful steviol glycosides such as RebN and RebD in higher contents than wild-type Stevia species, as well as a method for producing and screening for said plant. In one aspect, the present invention provides the following: [1] A stevia plant having at least one of the following genetic characteristics (1) to (10): (1) Homozygosity for an allele in which the sequence corresponding to positions 151 to 152 of SEQ ID NO:1 is CCA. (2) Homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:2 is G. (3) Homozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:3 is T. (4) Homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:4 is G. (5) Homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:5 is G. (6) Homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:6 is A. (7) Homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:7 is A. (8) Homozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:8 is G. (9) Homozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 103 of SEQ ID NO:9 is G. (10) Homozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:10 is A. [2] A stevia plant having at least one of the following chemical characteristics (i) to (viii): (i) The rebaudioside (Reb) N content is 2.2% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (ii) RebD content is 6.3% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (iii) The total content of RebN and RebD is 7.4% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (iv) The total content of RebN and RebM is 2.9% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (v) The total content of RebD and RebE is 5.8% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (vi) The total content of RebN, RebD and RebM is 9% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (vii) The total content of RebN, RebD and RebE is 5.9% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (viii) the mass ratio of RebN to RebC is 3.8 or more; [3] Dead tissue or dead cells of the plant body described in [1] or [2]. [4] A method for producing the stevia plant according to [1] or [2], comprising a step of crossing the plant according to [1] or [2] with a second stevia plant. [5] A method for producing the stevia plant according to [1] or [2], comprising the step of introducing at least one of the following mutations into the genome of the stevia plant: (1) A mutation that converts the sequence corresponding to positions 151 to 152 of SEQ ID NO:1 into CCA. (2) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:2 to G. (3) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:3 to T. (4) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:4 to G. (5) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:5 to G. (6) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:6 to A. (7) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:7 to A. (8) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:8 to G. (9) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 103 of SEQ ID NO:9 to G. (10) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:10 to A. [6] An extract of a plant body described in [1] or [2], or a dead tissue or cell described in [3]. [7] A method for producing an extract containing steviol glycosides, comprising a step of obtaining an extract from a plant body described in [1] or [2], or from a dead tissue or dead cell described in [3]. [8] A method for producing steviol glycoside, comprising a step of purifying steviol glycoside from the extract described in [6]. [9] Providing an extract of a plant body according to [1] or [2], an extract of dead tissue or dead cells according to [3], or an extract according to [6]; and Adding the extract to a food or drink, a sweetener composition, a flavoring, or a pharmaceutical ingredient. A method for producing a food or drink, a sweetener composition, a flavoring, or a pharmaceutical, comprising the steps of:

[0010] An extract of a plant body described in [1] or [2], an extract of dead tissue or dead cells described in [3], or a food, beverage, sweetener composition, flavoring, or pharmaceutical product containing the extract described in [6].

[0011] [6] A step of purifying steviol glycosides from the extract according to [6]; and A step of adding the purified steviol glycoside to a food or drink, a sweetener composition, a flavoring, or a raw material for a pharmaceutical product. A method for producing a food or drink, a sweetener composition, a flavoring, or a pharmaceutical, comprising the steps of:

[0012] A method for screening a stevia plant having at least one of the chemical characteristics (i) to (viii) described in [2], comprising a step of detecting the presence and / or absence of at least one of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) described in [1] from a test stevia plant.

[0013] A screening kit for a stevia plant having at least one of the chemical characteristics (i) to (viii) described in [2], comprising a reagent for detecting the presence and / or absence of at least one of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) described in [1]. The present invention makes it possible to obtain a Stevia plant containing more useful steviol glycosides, to provide a means for producing such a plant, leaves obtained from such a plant, and foods, beverages, and the like containing useful steviol glycosides obtained from the leaves. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (1) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (2) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (3) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (4) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (5) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (6) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (7) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (8) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (9) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (10) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (11) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 119. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. Fig. 12 is a diagram showing the positions of mutations related to genetic feature (12) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 121. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. Fig. 13 is a diagram showing the positions of mutations related to genetic feature (13) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 123. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence.FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (14) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 125. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (15) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 127. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (16) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 129. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (17) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 131. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic feature (18) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 133. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic characteristic (19) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 135. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the position of a mutation related to genetic characteristic (20) in the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 137. The left side of the slash in parentheses is the wild-type sequence, and the right side is the mutant sequence. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the results of an analysis by the dCAPS method to determine whether or not a stevia plant has genetic characteristic (4), (7), or (9). The present invention will be described in detail below. The following embodiments are merely examples for explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention to such embodiments. The present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. In addition, all documents cited in this specification, as well as published patent applications, patent publications, and other patent documents, are incorporated herein by reference. In addition, this specification includes the contents described in the specification and drawings of the Japanese patent application (Patent Application No. 2023-108844), which is the basis for the priority claim of this application, filed on June 30, 2023. 1. Plant of the Present Invention 1-1. Stevia plant having at least one of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) In one aspect, the present invention provides a stevia plant having at least one of the following genetic characteristics (1) to (10) (hereinafter, may be referred to as "plant A of the present invention" or "Stevia plant A of the present invention"). (1) Homozygosity for an allele in which the sequence corresponding to positions 151 to 152 of SEQ ID NO:1 is CCA. (2) Homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:2 is G. (3) Homozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:3 is T. (4) Homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:4 is G. (5) Homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:5 is G. (6) Homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:6 is A. (7) Homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:7 is A. (8) Homozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:8 is G. (9) Homozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 103 of SEQ ID NO:9 is G. (10) Homozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:10 is A. Hereinafter, the genetic features (1) to (10) may be collectively referred to as “the genetic features of the present invention.” Stevia is a plant having the scientific name Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni. In a preferred embodiment, genetic characteristics (2), (4)-(7) are heterozygous as follows: (2') Heterozygosity for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:2 is G. (4') Heterozygosity for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:4 is G. (5') Heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:5 is G. (6') Heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:6 is A. (7') Heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:7 is A. "Position / portion corresponding to" means, when a sequence identical to a reference sequence (e.g., SEQ ID NOs: 1 to 10, etc.) exists in the genome, a position / portion in that sequence present in the genome (e.g., positions 151 to 152, 151, 103, etc.), and when a sequence identical to the reference sequence does not exist in the genome, means a position / portion in a sequence in the genome that corresponds to the position / portion in the reference sequence. Whether or not a sequence identical to or corresponding to a reference sequence exists in the genome can be determined, for example, by amplifying the genomic DNA of a target stevia plant with primers capable of amplifying the reference sequence by PCR, sequencing the amplified product, and performing alignment analysis between the obtained sequence and the reference sequence. Non-limiting examples of sequences corresponding to the reference sequence include, for example, base sequences having sequence identity of 60% or more, 70% or more, 75% or more, 80% or more, 81% or more, 82% or more, 83% or more, 84% or more, 85% or more, 86% or more, 87% or more, 88% or more, 89% or more, 90% or more, 91% or more, 92% or more, 93% or more, 94% or more, 95% or more, 96% or more, 97% or more, 98% or more, 98.1% or more, 98.4% or more, 98.7% or more, 99% or more, 99.2% or more, 99.5% or more, or 99.8% or more. The position / portion corresponding to the position / portion in the reference sequence in the genome can be determined in consideration of the base sequence before and after the position / portion in the reference sequence. For example, by performing alignment analysis between a reference sequence and a sequence corresponding to the reference sequence in a genome, a position / portion in the sequence corresponding to the reference sequence in a genome that corresponds to the position / portion in the reference sequence can be determined. For example, taking the "portion corresponding to positions 151-152 of SEQ ID NO: 1" of the genetic feature (1) of the present invention as an example, when the genome of a stevia plant has a portion consisting of the same nucleotide sequence as SEQ ID NO: 1, the "portion corresponding to positions 151-152 of SEQ ID NO: 1" is the 151-152 position from the 5' side of the portion consisting of the same nucleotide sequence as SEQ ID NO: 1 in the genome. On the other hand, when the genome of a stevia plant has a portion consisting of a nucleotide sequence that is not identical to SEQ ID NO: 1 but corresponds to it, the genome does not have a portion consisting of the same nucleotide sequence as SEQ ID NO: 1, so the "portion corresponding to positions 151-152 of SEQ ID NO: 1" does not necessarily correspond to positions 151-152 from the 5' side of the portion corresponding to SEQ ID NO: 1. However, by considering the nucleotide sequences around positions 151-152 of SEQ ID NO: 1, etc., the "portion corresponding to positions 151-152 of SEQ ID NO: 1" in the genome of such a stevia plant can be specified. For example, by performing an alignment analysis between the nucleotide sequence of a portion of the genome of a stevia plant corresponding to SEQ ID NO: 1 and the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, it is possible to identify "the portion of the genome of a stevia plant corresponding to positions 151 to 152 of SEQ ID NO: 1." Here, positions selected from the group consisting of (1) a portion corresponding to positions 151-152 of SEQ ID NO:1, (2) a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:2, (3) a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:3, (4) a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:4, (5) a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:5, (6) a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:6, (7) a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:7, (8) a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:8, (9) a position corresponding to position 103 of SEQ ID NO:9, and (10) a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:10 may be collectively referred to as the "polymorphic site of the present invention" or the "mutation site of the present invention." Furthermore, each of the positions / portions (1) to (10) above may be referred to as the "polymorphic site (1)," the "polymorphic site (2)," the "mutation site (1)," the "mutation site (2)," or the like. A "portion consisting of a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO:1" means, for example, a portion consisting of a nucleotide sequence having sequence identity of 60% or more, 70% or more, 75% or more, 80% or more, 81% or more, 82% or more, 83% or more, 84% or more, 85% or more, 86% or more, 87% or more, 88% or more, 89% or more, 90% or more, 91% or more, 92% or more, 93% or more, 94% or more, 95% or more, 96% or more, 97% or more, 98% or more, 98.1% or more, 98.4% or more, 98.7% or more, 99% or more, 99.2% or more, 99.5% or more, or 99.8% or more to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1. In some embodiments, the "portion consisting of a base sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO:1" includes a portion of the genome of a Stevia plant that can be amplified by PCR using a forward primer that hybridizes to a complementary sequence of a portion from positions 1 to 150 from the 5' end of SEQ ID NO:1 (i.e., from the 5' end of SEQ ID NO:1 to the base one base 5' end of the mutation site (1)) and a reverse primer that hybridizes to a portion from positions 1 to 148 from the 3' end of SEQ ID NO:1 (i.e., from the 3' end of SEQ ID NO:1 to the base one base 3' end of the mutation site (1)). For the sake of simplicity, the genetic characteristic (1) of the present invention has been described as an example here, but the same applies to the genetic characteristics (2) to (10) of the present invention. In a specific embodiment, the "portion consisting of a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO:1" includes, for example, a portion of the genome of a stevia plant that can be amplified by PCR using a forward primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:11 and a reverse primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:12. In a specific embodiment, the "portion consisting of a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO:2" includes, for example, a portion of the genome of a stevia plant that can be amplified by PCR using a forward primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:13 and a reverse primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:14. In a specific embodiment, the "portion consisting of a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO:3" includes, for example, a portion of the genome of a stevia plant that can be amplified by PCR using a forward primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:15 and a reverse primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:16. In a specific embodiment, the "portion consisting of a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO: 4" includes, for example, a portion of the genome of a stevia plant that can be amplified by PCR using a forward primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17 and a reverse primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18. In a specific embodiment, the "portion consisting of a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO:5" includes, for example, a portion of the genome of a stevia plant that can be amplified by PCR using a forward primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:19 and a reverse primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:20. In a specific embodiment, the "portion consisting of a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO:6" includes, for example, a portion of the genome of a stevia plant that can be amplified by PCR using a forward primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:21 and a reverse primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:22. In a specific embodiment, the "portion consisting of a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO:7" includes, for example, a portion of the genome of a stevia plant that can be amplified by PCR using a forward primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:23 and a reverse primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:24. In a specific embodiment, the "portion consisting of a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO:8" includes, for example, a portion of the genome of a Stevia plant that can be amplified by PCR using a forward primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:25 and a reverse primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:26. In a specific embodiment, the "portion consisting of a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO:9" includes, for example, a portion of the genome of a stevia plant that can be amplified by PCR using a forward primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:27 and a reverse primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:28. In a specific embodiment, the "portion consisting of a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO: 10" includes, for example, a portion of the genome of a stevia plant that can be amplified by PCR using a forward primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 29 and a reverse primer containing the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 30. In a specific embodiment, the "allele in which the sequence corresponding to positions 151 to 152 of SEQ ID NO: 1 is CCA" comprises the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, 32, 33, or 34. In a specific embodiment, the "allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:2 is G" includes the base sequence of SEQ ID NO:35, 36, 37, or 38. In a specific embodiment, the "allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:3 is T" includes the base sequence of SEQ ID NO:39, 40, 41, or 42. In a specific embodiment, the "allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 4 is G" includes the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 43, 44, 45, or 46. In a specific embodiment, the "allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:5 is G" includes the base sequence of SEQ ID NO:47, 48, 49, or 50. In a specific embodiment, the "allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:6 is A" includes the base sequence of SEQ ID NO:51, 52, 53, or 54. In a specific embodiment, the "allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:7 is A" includes the base sequence of SEQ ID NO:55, 56, 57, or 58. In a specific embodiment, the "allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:8 is G" includes the base sequence of SEQ ID NO:59, 60, 61, or 62. In a specific embodiment, the "allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 103 of SEQ ID NO:9 is G" includes the base sequence of SEQ ID NO:63, 64, 65, or 66. In a specific embodiment, the "allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 10 is A" includes the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 67, 68, 69, or 70. In addition, mutations selected from the group consisting of (1) a CA to CCA mutation in a portion corresponding to positions 151 to 152 of SEQ ID NO:1, (2) an A to G mutation in a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:2, (3) a G to T mutation in a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:3, (4) an A to G mutation in a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:4, (5) an A to G mutation in a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:5, (6) a T to A mutation in a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:6, (7) a G to A mutation in a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:7, (8) a C to G mutation in a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:8, (9) an A to G mutation in a position corresponding to position 103 of SEQ ID NO:9, and (10) a T to A mutation in a position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:10 may be collectively referred to as the "polymorphism of the present invention" or the "mutation of the present invention". In addition, each of the above mutations (1) to (10) may be referred to as "polymorphism (1) of the present invention," "polymorphism (2) of the present invention," or "mutation (1) of the present invention," "mutation (2) of the present invention," etc. The above genetic characteristics can be determined by PCR, real-time PCR (e.g., hybridization methods such as TaqMan PCR, intercalation, etc.), sequencing, microarray, invader, TILLING, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAD), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), PCR-SSCP, amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), simple sequence length polymorphism (SSLP), cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS), derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (dCAPS), allele-specific oligonucleotide (ASO), ARMS, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), chemical cleavage of mismatch (CCM), DOL, MALDI-TOF / MS, TDI, padlock probe, molecular beacon, dynamic allele specific hybridization (DASH), UCAN, ECA, PINPOINT, and primer oligo base probe (PROBE). Detection can be performed by, but is not limited to, the following methods: VSET (very short extension) method, Survivor assay, Sniper assay, Luminex assay, GOOD method, LCx method, SNaPshot method, Mass ARRAY method, pyrosequencing method, SNP-IT method, melting curve analysis method, etc. In a specific embodiment, the genetic characteristic of the present invention can be detected by the dCAPS method using the following combination of primer sets and restriction enzymes. When the candidate plant has a mutation (4'), for example, PCR amplification is performed on the genomic DNA of the candidate plant using a forward primer having the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 71 and a reverse primer having the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 72, and the resulting PCR product (about 300 bp long, for example, SEQ ID NO: 73) is treated with the restriction enzyme NdeI, and a band of about 36 bp long (for example, SEQ ID NO: 74) and a band of about 264 bp long (for example, SEQ ID NO: 75) are obtained. On the other hand, when the candidate plant does not have a mutation (4'), PCR amplification is performed in the same manner as above, and the resulting PCR product (about 300 bp long, for example, SEQ ID NO: 76) is treated with the restriction enzyme NdeI, only a band of about 300 bp long (for example, SEQ ID NO: 76) is obtained. Therefore, when a band of about 36 bp long and / or a band of about 264 bp long derived from a decomposition product and a band of about 300 bp long derived from a non-decomposition product are observed by the above dCAPS method, it can be determined that the plant has the genetic characteristic (4') of the present invention. An example of genetic feature (4') detected by the above method is shown in FIG. When the candidate plant has a mutation (7'), for example, PCR amplification is performed on the genomic DNA of the candidate plant using a forward primer having the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 77 and a reverse primer having the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 78, and the resulting PCR product (about 264 bp long, for example, SEQ ID NO: 79) is treated with the restriction enzyme SspI, resulting in an about 224 bp long band (for example, SEQ ID NO: 80) and an about 40 bp long band (for example, SEQ ID NO: 81). On the other hand, when the candidate plant does not have a mutation (7'), PCR amplification is performed in the same manner as above, and the resulting PCR product (about 264 bp long, for example, SEQ ID NO: 82) is treated with the restriction enzyme SspI, only an about 264 bp long band (for example, SEQ ID NO: 82) is obtained. Therefore, when the above dCAPS method is used to confirm the presence of an about 224 bp long band and / or an about 40 bp long band derived from the decomposition product and an about 264 bp long band derived from the non-decomposition product, it can be determined that the plant has the genetic characteristic (7') of the present invention. An example of genetic feature (7') detected by the above method is shown in FIG. When the candidate plant has a mutation (9), for example, PCR amplification is performed on the genomic DNA of the candidate plant using a forward primer having the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 83 and a reverse primer having the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 84, and the resulting PCR product (about 179 bp long, for example, SEQ ID NO: 85) is treated with the restriction enzyme SnaBI, resulting in a band of about 39 bp long (for example, SEQ ID NO: 86) and a band of about 140 bp long (for example, SEQ ID NO: 87). On the other hand, when the candidate plant does not have a mutation (9), PCR amplification is performed in the same manner as above, and the resulting PCR product (about 179 bp long, for example, SEQ ID NO: 88) is treated with the restriction enzyme SnaBI, only a band of about 179 bp long (for example, SEQ ID NO: 88) is obtained. Therefore, when a band of about 39 bp long and / or a band of about 140 bp long derived from the degradation product is observed by the above dCAPS method, it can be determined that the plant has the genetic feature (9) of the present invention. An example of detection of the genetic feature (9) by the above method is shown in FIG. 21. In some embodiments, the plant A of the present invention has at least one property selected from the contents of RebD, RebE, RebN, stevioside (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as ST), total steviol glycosides, RebD+N (total of RebD and RebN, same below), RebD+M+N, RebN+M, RebD+E, and RebD+E+N, and the ratio of RebN content to RebC content (RebN / RebC) higher than a stevia plant not having the genetic characteristics (4'), (7'), and (9) (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a control plant). "Higher than a control plant" means, for example, that when cultivated under the same cultivation conditions, the content (e.g., content in dried leaves) or content ratio of the above-mentioned components is higher, preferably statistically significantly higher, than the control plant. More specifically, for example, when cultivated under the same cultivation conditions, the content or content ratio of the above components in the dried leaves is more than 1-fold, about 1.1-fold or more, about 1.2-fold or more, about 1.3-fold or more, about 1.4-fold or more, about 1.5-fold or more, about 1.6-fold or more, about 1.7-fold or more, about 1.8-fold or more, about 1.9-fold or more, about 2-fold or more, about 2.1-fold or more, about 2.2-fold or more, about 2.3-fold or more, about 2.4-fold or more, about 2.5-fold or more, about 2.6-fold or more, about 2.7-fold or more, about 2.8-fold or more, about 2.9-fold or more, about 3-fold or more, about 3.1-fold or more, about 3.2-fold or more, about 3.3-fold or more, about 3.4-fold or more, about 3.5-fold or more, about 3.6-fold or more, about 3.7-fold or more, or about 3.8-fold or more. fold or more, about 3.8 fold or more, about 3.9 fold or more, about 4 fold or more, about 4.1 fold or more, about 4.2 fold or more, about 4.3 fold or more, about 4.4 fold or more, about 4.5 fold or more, about 4.6 fold or more, about 4.7 fold or more, about 4.8 fold or more, about 4.9 fold or more, about 5 fold or more, about 6 fold or more, about 7 fold or more, about 8 fold or more, about 9 fold or more, about 10 fold or more, about 15 fold or more, about 20 fold or more, about 25 fold or more, about 30 fold or more, about 35 fold or more, about 40 fold or more, about 45 fold or more, about 50 fold or more, about 55 fold or more, about 60 fold or more, about 65 fold or more, about 70 fold or more, about 75 fold or more, about 80 fold or more, about 85 fold or more, about 90 fold or more, about 95 fold or more, or about 100 fold or more, etc.Also, for example, when the content or content ratio of the above-mentioned component in the dried leaves of a population of plant A of the present invention and the content or content ratio of the above-mentioned component in the dried leaves of a population of control plants are tested by Welch's t-test, the average value of the former is greater than the average value of the latter, and the P value of the two-sided test is less than 0.05, preferably less than 0.01, and particularly preferably less than 0.005. The contents to be compared may be the average values ​​of multiple individuals. Total Steviol Glycoside (TSG) is a collective term for measurable steviol glycosides, excluding unknown steviol glycosides and steviol glycosides present in amounts below the detection limit. Preferably, TSG is any combination of two or more selected from the group consisting of RebA, RebB, RebC, RebD, RebE, RebF, RebG, RebI, RebJ, RebK, RebM, RebN, RebO, RebQ, RebR, dulcoside A, rubusoside, steviol monoside, steviol bioside, and ST. In a particular embodiment, TSG is composed of RebA, RebB, RebC, RebD, RebE, RebF, RebI, RebJ, RebM, RebN, and ST. In some embodiments, plant A of the present invention has a lower RebI content than a control plant. "Lower content than a control plant" means, for example, that when cultivated under the same cultivation conditions, the content of the above-mentioned component (e.g., content in dried leaves) is lower, preferably statistically significantly lower, than the control plant. More specifically, for example, when grown under the same cultivation conditions, the content of the above components in the dried leaves is less than 1-fold, about 0.98-fold or less, about 0.96-fold or less, about 0.94-fold or less, about 0.92-fold or less, about 0.9-fold or less, about 0.88-fold or less, about 0.86-fold or less, about 0.84-fold or less, about 0.82-fold or less, about 0.8-fold or less, about 0.78-fold or less, about 0.76-fold or less, about 0.74-fold or less, about 0.72-fold or less, about 0.7-fold or less, about 0.65-fold or less, about 0.6-fold or less, about 0.55-fold or less, about 0.5-fold or less, about 0.45-fold or less of the content in the control plant. or less, about 0.4 times or less, about 0.38 times or less, about 0.36 times or less, about 0.35 times or less, about 0.34 times or less, about 0.32 times or less, about 0.3 times or less, about 0.28 times or less, about 0.27 times or less, about 0.26 times or less, about 0.25 times or less, about 0.24 times or less, about 0.22 times or less, about 0.2 times or less, about 0.18 times or less, about 0.16 times or less, about 0.15 times or less, about 0.14 times or less, about 0.12 times or less, about 0.1 times or less, about 0.08 times or less, about 0.06 times or less, about 0.04 times or less, or about 0.02 times or less. Also, for example, when the content of the above-mentioned component in the dried leaves of a population of plant A of the present invention and the content of the above-mentioned component in the dried leaves of a population of control plants are tested by Welch's t-test, the average value of the former is smaller than the average value of the latter, and the P value of the two-sided test is less than 0.05, preferably less than 0.01, and particularly preferably less than 0.005. The contents to be compared may be the average values ​​of multiple individuals. In some embodiments, plant A of the present invention may have a plurality of the above genetic characteristics (1) to (10). In this embodiment, the number of genetic characteristics may be any of 2 to 10, i.e., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. In a specific embodiment, plant A of the present invention has genetic characteristics (4'), (7'), and (9). 1-2. Stevia plant having at least one of the chemical characteristics (i) to (viii) In one aspect, the present invention provides a stevia plant having at least one of the following chemical characteristics (i) to (viii) (hereinafter, sometimes collectively referred to as "plant B of the present invention" or "Stevia plant B of the present invention"). (i) RebN content is 2.2% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (ii) RebD content is 6.3% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (iii) The total content of RebN and RebD is 7.4% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (iv) The total content of RebN and RebM is 2.9% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (v) The total content of RebD and RebE is 5.8% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (vi) The total content of RebN, RebD and RebM is 9% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (vii) The content of RebN, RebD and RebE is 5.9% or more per unit mass of dry leaves. (viii) the mass ratio of RebN to RebC is 3.8 or more; In the plant B of the present invention having chemical characteristic (i), a RebN content of 2.2% or more per unit mass of dried leaves means, for example, that a given mass of dried leaves (e.g., 50 mg) contains 2.2 mass% or more of RebN (e.g., 1.1 mg or more). The proportion of RebN per unit mass of dried leaves in this embodiment is not limited, and may be, for example, 2.2% or more, 2.25% or more, 2.3% or more, 2.35% or more, 2.4% or more, 2.45% or more, 2.5% or more, 2.55% or more, 2.6% or more, 2.65% or more, 2.7% or more, 2.75% or more, 2.8% or more, 2.85% or more, 2.9% or more, 2.95% or more, It may be 3% or more, 3.05% or more, 3.1% or more, 3.15% or more, 3.2% or more, 3.25% or more, 3.3% or more, 3.35% or more, 3.4% or more, 3.45% or more, 3.5% or more, 3.55% or more, 3.6% or more, 3.65% or more, 3.7% or more, 3.75% or more, 3.8% or more, 3.85% or more, 3.9% or more, 3.95% or more, 4% or more, etc. The upper limit of the proportion of RebN per unit mass of dried leaves is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 10%, 8%, 6%, 5%, etc. The term "dried leaves" as used herein refers to fresh leaves of the Stevia plant of the present invention that have been dried to reduce the water content to 3-4% by weight, thereby killing the cells. In plant body B of the present invention having chemical characteristic (ii), a RebD content of 6.3% or more per unit mass of dried leaves means, for example, that a given mass of dried leaves (e.g., 50 mg) contains RebD at a rate of 6.3 mass% or more (e.g., 3.15 mg or more). In this embodiment, the proportion of RebD per unit mass of the dried leaves is not limited, and may be, for example, 6.3% or more, 6.35% or more, 6.4% or more, 6.45% or more, 6.5% or more, 6.55% or more, 6.6% or more, 6.65% or more, 6.7% or more, 6.75% or more, 6.8% or more, 6.85% or more, 6.9% or more, 6.95% or more, 7% or more, 7.05% or more, 7.1% or more, 7.15% or more, 7.2% or more, 7.25% or more, 7.3% or more, 7.35% or more, 7.4% or more, 7.45% or more, 7.5% or more, etc. The upper limit of the proportion of RebD per unit mass of the dried leaves is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 20%, 15%, 12%, 10%, etc. In the plant B of the present invention having chemical characteristic (iii), the total content of RebN and RebD is 7.4% or more per unit mass of dried leaves means, for example, that the total mass of RebN and RebD contained in a predetermined mass of dried leaves (e.g., 50 mg) is 7.4% by mass or more (e.g., 3.7 mg or more). The total ratio of RebN and RebD per unit mass of dried leaves in this embodiment is not limited, and may be, for example, 7.4% or more, 7.5% or more, 7.6% or more, 7.7% or more, 7.8% or more, 7.9% or more, 8% or more, 8.1% or more, 8.2% or more, 8.3% or more, 8.4% or more, 8.5% or more, 8.6% or more, 8.7% or more, 8.8% or more, 8.9% or more, It may be 9% or more, 9.1% or more, 9.2% or more, 9.3% or more, 9.4% or more, 9.5% or more, 9.6% or more, 9.7% or more, 9.8% or more, 9.9% or more, 10% or more, 10.1% or more, 10.2% or more, 10.3% or more, 10.4% or more, 10.5% or more, 10.6% or more, 10.7% or more, 10.8% or more, 10.9% or more, 11% or more, etc. The upper limit of the ratio of the sum of RebN and RebD per unit mass of dried leaves is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 25%, 20%, 18%, 15%, etc. In plant body B of the present invention having chemical characteristic (iv), the total content of RebN and RebM being 2.9% or more per unit mass of dried leaves means, for example, that the total mass of RebN and RebM contained in a given mass of dried leaves (e.g., 50 mg) is 2.9% by mass or more (e.g., 1.45 mg or more). In this embodiment, the total ratio of RebN and RebM per unit mass of dried leaves is not limited, and may be, for example, 2.9% or more, 2.95% or more, 3% or more, 3.05% or more, 3.1% or more, 3.15% or more, 3.2% or more, 3.25% or more, 3.3% or more, 3.35% or more, 3.4% or more, 3.45% or more, 3.5% or more, 3.55% or more, 3.6% or more, 3.65% or more, 3.7% or more, 3.75% or more, 3.8% or more, 3.85% or more, 3.9% or more, 3.95% or more, 4% or more, 4.1% or more, 4.2% or more, 4.3% or more, 4.4% or more, 4.5% or more, 4.6% or more, 4.7% or more, 4.8% or more, 4.9% or more, 5% or more, etc. The upper limit of the total proportion of RebN and RebM per unit mass of dried leaves is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 10%, 8%, 6%, 5%, etc. In the plant B of the present invention having chemical characteristic (v), the total content of RebD and RebE is 5.8% or more per unit mass of dried leaves means, for example, that the total mass of RebD and RebE contained in a predetermined mass of dried leaves (e.g., 50 mg) is 5.8% by mass or more (e.g., 2.9 mg or more). The total ratio of RebD and RebE per unit mass of dried leaves in this embodiment is not limited and may be, for example, 5.8% or more, 5.9% or more, 6% or more, 6.1% or more, 6.2% or more, 6.3% or more, 6.4% or more, 6.5% or more, 6.6% or more, 6.7% or more, 6.8% or more, 6.9% or more, 7% or more, 7.1% or more, 7.2% or more, 7.3% or more, 7.4% or more, 7.5% or more, 7.6% or more, 7.7% or more, 7.8% or more, 7.9 ... %, 7.7% or more, 7.8% or more, 7.9% or more, 8% or more, 8.1% or more, 8.2% or more, 8.3% or more, 8.4% or more, 8.5% or more, 8.6% or more, 8.7% or more, 8.8% or more, 8.9% or more, 9% or more, 9.1% or more, 9.2% or more, 9.3% or more, 9.4% or more, 9.5% or more, 9.6% or more, 9.7% or more, 9.8% or more, 9.9% or more, 10% or more, etc. The upper limit of the total ratio of RebD and RebE per unit mass of dried leaves is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 25%, 20%, 18%, 15%, etc. In plant body B of the present invention having chemical characteristic (vi), the total content of RebN, RebD and RebM being 9% or more per unit mass of dried leaves means, for example, that the total mass of RebN, RebD and RebM contained in a given mass of dried leaves (e.g., 50 mg) is 9% by mass or more (e.g., 4.5 mg or more). In this embodiment, the total ratio of RebN, RebD and RebM per unit mass of dried leaves is not limited, and may be, for example, 9.1% or more, 9.2% or more, 9.3% or more, 9.4% or more, 9.5% or more, 9.6% or more, 9.7% or more, 9.8% or more, 9.9% or more, 10% or more, 10.1% or more, 10.2% or more, 10.3% or more, 10.4% or more, 10.5% or more, 10.6% or more, 10.7% or more, 10.8% or more, 10.9% or more, 11% or more, 11.1% or more, 11.2% or more, 11.3% or more, 11.4% or more, 11.5% or more, 11.6% or more, 11.7% or more, 11.8% or more, 11.9% or more, 12% or more, etc. The upper limit of the total proportion of RebN, RebD and RebM per unit mass of dried leaves is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 25%, 20%, 18%, 15%, etc. In plant B of the present invention having chemical characteristic (vii), the content of RebN, RebD and RebE is 5.9% or more per unit mass of dried leaves means, for example, that the total mass of RebN, RebD and RebE contained in a predetermined mass of dried leaves (e.g., 50 mg) is 5.9% by mass or more (e.g., 2.95 mg or more). The total proportion of RebN, RebD and RebE per unit mass of dried leaves in this embodiment is not limited and may be, for example, 5.9% or more, 6% or more, 6.2% or more, 6.4% or more, 6.6% or more, 6.8% or more, 7% or more, 7.2% or more, 7.4% or more, 7.6% or more, 7.8% or more, 8% or more, 8.2% or more, 8.4% or more, 8.6% or more, 8.8% or more, 9.0 ... %, 9.2% or more, 9.4% or more, 9.6% or more, 9.8% or more, 10% or more, 10.2% or more, 10.4% or more, 10.6% or more, 10.8% or more, 11% or more, 11.2% or more, 11.4% or more, 11.6% or more, 11.8% or more, 12% or more, 12.2% or more, 12.4% or more, 12.6% or more, 12.8% or more, 13% or more, etc. The upper limit of the total ratio of RebN, RebD, and RebE per unit mass of dried leaves is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 25%, 20%, 18%, 15%, etc. In the plant B of the present invention having the chemical characteristic (viii), the mass ratio of RebN to RebC is 3.8 or more means that, for example, when the mass of RebN contained in a leaf (e.g., a dried leaf or a fresh leaf) is expressed as the ratio to the mass of RebC obtained from the same leaf, RebN / RebC, the value of RebN / RebC is 3.8 or more. The value of RebN / RebC in this embodiment is not limited, and may be, for example, 3.8 or more, 3.9 or more, 4 or more, 4.1 or more, 4.2 or more, 4.3 or more, 4.4 or more, 4.5 or more, 4.6 or more, 4.7 or more, 4.8 or more, 4.9 or more, 5 or more, 5.1 or more, 5.2 or more, 5.3 or more, 5.4 or more, 5.5 or more, 5.6 or more, 5.7 or more, 5.8 or more, 5.9 or more, 6 or more, 6.1 or more, 6.2 or more, 6.3 or more, 6.4 or more, 6.5 or more, etc. The upper limit of the mass ratio of RebN to RebC is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 15, 12, 10, 8, or the like. In some embodiments, the plant B of the present invention may have a plurality of the above chemical characteristics. In this embodiment, the number of chemical characteristics may be any of 2 to 8 types, i.e., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 types. In a specific aspect, the present invention provides a stevia plant having at least one of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) and at least one of the chemical characteristics (i) to (viii) (hereinafter, sometimes collectively referred to as "plant C of the present invention" or "Stevia plant C of the present invention"). The plants A to C of the present invention may be collectively referred to as "the plants of the present invention." Steviol glycosides such as RebD, RebE, RebM, and RebN can be extracted in the form of an extract by reacting fresh or dried leaves of the plant of the present invention with an appropriate solvent (aqueous solvent such as water, or organic solvent such as alcohol, ether, and acetone). The extraction conditions can be referenced to the methods described in Ohta et al., J. Appl. Glycosci., Vol. 57, No. 3, 199-209 (2010) or WO2010 / 038911, or the methods described in the Examples below. Furthermore, the extract thus obtained can be purified into individual steviol glycosides, such as RebD, RebE, RebM, and RebN, by using known methods such as a gradient of ethyl acetate or other organic solvent:water, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography, time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS), and ultra (High) Performance Liquid chromatography (UPLC). The content of steviol glycosides such as RebD, RebE, RebM, and RebN can be measured by the method described in Ohta et al. or WO2010 / 038911 or the method described in the Examples below. Specifically, for example, the content can be measured by sampling fresh leaves from the Stevia plant of the present invention and performing LC-MS / MS. The plant body of the present invention may be one obtained by a genetic recombination technique or its progeny (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a "genetically modified plant body"), or one obtained by a non-genetically modified technique or its progeny (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a "non-genetically modified plant body"). Examples of "non-genetically modified techniques" include hybridization, self-pollination, and other methods of inducing mutations in genes of host cells (or host plants) without introducing foreign genes. Such methods include a method of using a mutagen on plant cells. Examples of such mutagen include ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) and sodium azide. For example, EMS can be used to treat plant cells at concentrations of 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4%, 0.5%, 0.6%, 0.7%, 0.8%, 0.9%, 1.0%, and the like. The treatment time is 1 to 48 hours, 2 to 36 hours, 3 to 30 hours, 4 to 28 hours, 5 to 26 hours, or 6 to 24 hours. The treatment procedure itself is known, and can be carried out, for example, by immersing the water-absorbed seeds that have undergone the water absorption process in a treatment solution containing the mutagen at the above concentration for the treatment time described above. Alternatively, as an example of a non-genetic recombination technique, a method can be used in which plant cells are irradiated with radiation or light such as X-rays, gamma rays, ion beams (e.g., heavy ion beams), ultraviolet rays, etc. In this case, for example, cells irradiated with an appropriate amount of ultraviolet light (ultraviolet lamp strength, distance, time) can be cultured in a selection medium, etc., and then cells, calli, or plants having the desired traits can be selected. The irradiation intensity is 0.01-100Gr, 0.03-75Gr, 0.05-50Gr, 0.07-25Gr, 0.09-20Gr, 0.1-15Gr, 0.1-10Gr, 0.5-10Gr, 1-10Gr, the irradiation distance is 1cm-200m, 5cm-100m, 7cm-75m, 9cm-50m, 10cm-30m, 10cm-20m, 10cm-10m, and the irradiation time is 1min-2years, 2min-1year, 3min-0.5years, 4min-1month, 5min-2weeks, 10min-1week. The irradiation intensity, distance and time vary depending on the type of radiation and the state of the target of irradiation (cells, callus, plant body), but can be adjusted appropriately by a person skilled in the art. In addition, techniques such as cell fusion, anther culture (haploid cultivation), and distant crossing (haploid cultivation) are also known. In general, plant cells may undergo mutations during cultivation, and therefore it is preferable to reinstate them into an individual plant for more stable maintenance of traits. Plants obtained by subsequently subjecting the plant body of the present invention to genetic modification (e.g., by genome editing, etc.) using the plant body of the present invention as a host (e.g., a plant body obtained by subjecting the plant body of the present invention as a host to genetic modification to further impart another trait) are not excluded from the scope of the present invention. The plant of the present invention includes not only the whole plant, but also parts or derivatives thereof. Thus, the plant of the present invention may include plant organs (e.g., leaves, petals, stems, roots, seeds, etc.), plant tissues (e.g., epidermis, phloem, parenchyma, xylem, vascular bundles, palisade tissue, spongy tissue, etc.), or various forms of plant cells (e.g., suspension culture cells), protoplasts, leaf slices, callus, etc. The plant body of the present invention may also include tissue cultures or plant cultured cells. This is because the plant body can be regenerated by culturing such tissue cultures or plant cultured cells. Examples of regenerative forms of the plant body of the present invention include, but are not limited to, embryos, meristematic cells, pollen, leaves, roots, root tips, petals, protoplasts, leaf slices, and callus. 2. Method for Producing the Plant of the Present Invention In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method for producing a stevia plant of the present invention (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "production method A of the present invention"), which comprises a step of crossing a stevia plant of the present invention with a second stevia plant. The stevia plant produced by this method can have the same phenotype and genetic characteristics as the plant of the present invention. The ranges of the contents and mass ratios of each component, the combinations of each characteristic (chemical characteristic and / or genetic characteristic) in the plant obtained by production method A of the present invention are as described above for the plant of the present invention. In the production method A of the present invention, "crossing" means crossing any one of the plants of the present invention (first generation (S1)) with a second plant (S1) to obtain a child plant (a plant produced by the production method of the present invention (second generation (S2)). Backcrossing is a preferred crossing method. "Backcrossing" is a technique in which, for example, a child plant (S2) born between a plant of the present invention and a second plant is further crossed with a plant of the present invention (i.e., a plant having the genetic characteristic of the present invention) (S1) to produce a plant having the genetic characteristic of the present invention. When the second plant (S1) used in the production method of the present invention has the same phenotype and genetic characteristics as the plant of the present invention, this is essentially backcrossing. It is preferable to perform crossing over two or more generations, but when the genetic characteristics are heterozygosity, etc., a plant having a desired combination of genetic characteristics may be obtained in one generation. Alternatively, the plant of the present invention can be produced by self-pollination, which can be carried out by self-pollinating the pistil of the plant of the present invention with pollen from the stamen of the plant of the present invention. Since the plant produced by the production method of the present invention has the same phenotype and genetic characteristics as the plant of the present invention, it is possible to produce a stevia plant having a phenotype equivalent to that of the plant of the present invention by further crossing the plant produced by the production method of the present invention with a third stevia plant. In another embodiment, the plant of the present invention can be produced by regenerating the plant by culturing the above-mentioned tissue culture or plant cell culture. The culturing conditions are the same as those for culturing tissue culture or plant cell culture of wild-type Stevia plants and are well known (Protocols for In Vitro cultures and secondary metabolite analysis of aromatic and medicinal plants, Method in molecular biology, vol. 1391, pp113-123). In yet another embodiment, the plant of the present invention can be produced by introducing the mutation of the present invention into the genome of a stevia plant. Thus, the present invention provides a method for producing the stevia plant of the present invention (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "production method B of the present invention"), which comprises the step of introducing at least one of the following mutations into the genome of a stevia plant: (1) A mutation that converts the sequence corresponding to positions 151 to 152 of SEQ ID NO:1 into CCA. (2) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:2 to G. (3) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:3 to T. (4) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:4 to G. (5) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:5 to G. (6) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:6 to A. (7) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:7 to A. (8) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:8 to G. (9) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 103 of SEQ ID NO:9 to G. (10) A mutation that changes the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:10 to A. The introduction of the mutation may be carried out by a recombinant gene technique or a non-recombinant gene technique. An example of a recombinant gene technique is a method of introducing a desired mutation into the genome of a host cell (or a host plant) by genome editing or the like. The non-recombinant gene technique is as described above for the plant of the present invention. 3. Screening method for plants of the present invention The plant of the present invention and plants having the same phenotype and / or genetic characteristics as the plant of the present invention can be screened by detecting the genetic characteristics of the present invention from the tissue of the plant. Here, "screening" means distinguishing the plant of the present invention from other plants and selecting the plant of the present invention. Therefore, in another aspect, the present invention provides a method for screening a Stevia plant having at least one of the chemical characteristics (i) to (viii), which comprises a step of detecting the presence and / or absence of at least one of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) from a test Stevia plant (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the "screening method of the present invention"). The screening method of the present invention may further comprise a step of selecting, from among the test plants, a plant body in which the presence of at least one of the above-mentioned genetic characteristics has been detected. The presence of the genetic features of the present invention may be determined, for example, by: (I) the absence of alleles other than an allele in which the sequence corresponding to positions 151 to 152 of SEQ ID NO: 1 is CCA (for example, an allele containing the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31, 32, 33, or 34; hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "allele i"); (II) the presence of an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 2 is G (for example, an allele containing the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35, 36, 37, or 38; hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "allele ii"); (III) the absence of alleles other than an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 3 is T (for example, an allele containing the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 39, 40, 41, or 42; hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "allele iii"); (IV) the presence of an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 4 is G (for example, an allele containing the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 43, 44, 45, or 46; hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "allele iv"); (V) the presence of an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:5 is G (for example, an allele containing the base sequence of SEQ ID NO:47, 48, 49, or 50, hereinafter sometimes referred to as "allele v"); (VI) the presence of an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 6 is A (for example, an allele containing the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 51, 52, 53, or 54; hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "allele vi"); (VII) the presence of an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 7 is A (for example, an allele containing the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 55, 56, 57, or 58; hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "allele vii"); (VIII) the absence of alleles other than an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 8 is G (for example, an allele containing the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 59, 60, 61, or 62, hereinafter sometimes referred to as "allele viii"); (IX) the absence of alleles other than an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 103 of SEQ ID NO: 9 is G (for example, an allele containing the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 63, 64, 65, or 66, hereinafter sometimes referred to as "allele ix"); and / or (X) Detection of the absence of alleles other than an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 10 is T (for example, an allele containing the base sequence of SEQ ID NO: 67, 68, 69, or 70; hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "allele x"). It can be determined by: The absence of a genetic feature of the present invention may be, for example, (i) the absence of allele i; (ii) absence of allele ii; (iii) absence of allele iii; (iv) absence of allele iv; (v) absence of allele v; (vi) absence of allele vi; (vii) Absence of allele vii (viii) Absence of allele viii (ix) the absence of allele ix and / or (x) Detection of the absence of allele x It can be determined by: Specific examples of the method for detecting genetic characteristics of the present invention include, but are not limited to, PCR, real-time PCR (e.g., hybridization methods such as TaqMan PCR, intercalation methods, etc.), sequencing, microarray, invader, TILLING, RAD, RFLP, PCR-SSCP, AFLP, SSLP, CAPS, dCAPS, ASO, ARMS, DGGE, CCM, DOL, MALDI-TOF / MS, TDI, padlock probe, molecular beacon, DASH, UCAN, ECA, PINPOINT, PROBE, VSET, Survivor assay, Sniper assay, Luminex assay, GOOD, LCx, SNaPshot, Mass ARRAY, pyrosequencing, SNP-IT, and melting curve analysis. In one embodiment, the genetic characteristic (4) of the present invention can be detected, for example, by the dCAPS method using the following primer set and restriction enzymes. Primer set: A primer set comprising a forward primer comprising a contiguous sequence of 15 to 39 bases from the 3' end of SEQ ID NO: 71, and a reverse primer comprising a sequence (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 72) complementary to any contiguous sequence of 15 or more bases located on the 3' side of position 40 of SEQ ID NO: 73 or 76. Restriction enzyme: NdeI or its isoschizomer In one embodiment, the genetic characteristic (7) of the present invention can be detected, for example, by the dCAPS method using the following primer set and restriction enzymes. Primer set: A primer set comprising a forward primer containing any sequence of 15 or more consecutive bases located on the 5' side of position 224 of SEQ ID NO: 79 or 82 (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 77), and a reverse primer containing a consecutive sequence 15 to 39 bases long from the 3' end of SEQ ID NO: 78. Restriction enzyme: SspI or its isoschizomer In one embodiment, the genetic characteristic (9) of the present invention can be detected, for example, by the dCAPS method using the following primer set and restriction enzymes. Primer set: A primer set comprising a forward primer comprising a contiguous sequence of 15 to 39 bases from the 3' end of SEQ ID NO: 83, and a reverse primer comprising a sequence (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 84) complementary to any contiguous sequence of 15 or more bases located on the 3' side of position 40 of SEQ ID NO: 853 or 88. Restriction enzyme: SnaBI or its isoschizomer The primer sequences can be optimized within the range that satisfies the above conditions. For details on optimizing primer design, see, for example, Sambrook and Russell, "Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual" 3rd Edition (2001), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, etc. Each of the above primers may be 15 to 50 bases long, 18 to 48 bases long, 20 to 45 bases long, 30 to 40 bases long, etc. Furthermore, it is also possible to design a primer set other than those described above based on the genetic characteristics of the present invention, and select a restriction enzyme corresponding to it. In a specific embodiment, the genetic characteristic (4), (7), or (9) of the present invention can be detected by the dCAPS method using, for example, a primer set having the following sequences and a restriction enzyme: The above-mentioned combinations of primer sets and restriction enzymes are merely examples, and a person skilled in the art can find other combinations of primer sets and restriction enzymes that can detect the genetic features of the present invention. The screening method of the present invention may further include a step of measuring the content of RebD, RebE, RebM and / or RebN in tissues (e.g., leaves) of a test stevia plant in which at least one of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) of the present invention has been detected. The measurement of the content of RebD, RebE, RebM or RebN is as described in the section on the plant of the present invention. In this embodiment, among the test stevia plants in which at least one of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) of the present invention has been detected, an individual having a high content of RebD, RebE, RebM and / or RebN may be selected and crossed with another stevia plant, and the screening method of the present invention may be applied to the resulting offspring plant. Thus, the screening method of the present invention may include one or more of the following steps. (i) detecting at least one of the genetic features (1) to (10) of the present invention from the genome of a test stevia plant; (ii) measuring the content of RebD, RebE, RebM and / or RebN in the test stevia plant tissue in which at least one of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) of the present invention has been detected; (iii) selecting individuals having high contents of RebD, RebE, RebM and / or RebN from among the test stevia plants in which at least one of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) of the present invention has been detected; (iv) crossbreeding the selected individual with high RebD, RebE, RebM and / or RebN contents with other stevia plants; (v) detecting at least one of the genetic features (1) to (10) of the present invention from the genome of the offspring plant obtained by crossing; (vi) measuring the content of RebD, RebE, RebM and / or RebN in offspring plant tissues in which at least one of the genetic features (1) to (10) of the present invention has been detected; (vii) A step of selecting individuals having high contents of RebD, RebE, RebM and / or RebN from among offspring plants in which at least one of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) of the present invention has been detected. The selected individuals having high RebD, RebE, RebM and / or RebN contents may be, for example, the top 50%, top 40%, top 30%, top 20%, top 10%, top 5%, top 4%, top 3%, top 2% or top 1% individuals in terms of the RebD, RebE, RebM and / or RebN contents among the test stevia plants in which at least one of the genetic features (1) to (10) of the present invention is detected. In addition, the other stevia plants to be crossed may or may not contain the genetic features (1) to (10) of the present invention. In the above embodiment, steps (iv) to (vii) can be repeated multiple times. In this manner, stevia plants having higher RebD, RebE, RebM and / or RebN contents can be screened. In the screening method of the present invention, the test stevia plant may be a natural plant or a non-genetically modified plant. The non-genetically modified plant is as described in the section on the plant of the present invention. In the screening method of the present invention, the test stevia plant may include a stevia plant that has been subjected to a mutagenesis treatment and its progeny. The mutagenesis is as described in the section on the plant of the present invention, and includes treatment with a mutagen, treatment with radiation or light, etc. The present invention also provides the above-described primer sets and combinations thereof, for example, the primer sets described in Table 1 above, and combinations of these primer sets. The present invention further provides primer sets capable of amplifying by PCR a region having a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 31 to 70 and 89 to 118, for example, a primer set of a forward primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11 and a reverse primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, a primer set of a forward primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13 and a reverse primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, a primer set of a forward primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15 and a reverse primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16, a primer set of a forward primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17 and a reverse primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18, a primer set of a forward primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 19 and a reverse primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: primer set comprising a forward primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:21 and a reverse primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:22; primer set comprising a forward primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:23 and a reverse primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:24; primer set comprising a forward primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:25 and a reverse primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:26; primer set comprising a forward primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:27 and a reverse primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:28; primer set comprising a forward primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:29 and a reverse primer comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:30; Furthermore, the present invention provides a probe capable of detecting the presence and / or absence of the genetic feature of the present invention (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the "probe of the present invention"). The probe of the present invention can be used in various detection methods for the presence and / or absence of the genetic feature of the present invention (for example, real-time PCR (TaqMan The probes of the present invention may have a structure suitable for a hybridization method such as PCR, etc. For example, the probes of the present invention may comprise a nucleotide sequence having complementarity to a portion of the genome containing the mutation site of the present invention. Non-limiting examples of such probes include those comprising a sequence complementary to a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 31-33, 35-37, 39-41, 43-45, 47-49, 51-53, 55-57, 59-61, 63-65, 67-69, and 89-118. Of these sequences, SEQ ID NOs: 31-33, 35-37, 39-41, 43-45, 47-49, 51-53, 55-57, 59-61, 63-65, and 67-69 are specific to alleles containing the mutation of the present invention, and SEQ ID NOs: 89-118 are specific to alleles not containing the mutation of the present invention. The presence of a genetic feature of the present invention can be detected by detecting both an allele containing a mutation of the present invention and an allele not containing a mutation of the present invention, and the absence of a genetic feature of the present invention can be detected by detecting only an allele containing a mutation of the present invention or only an allele not containing a mutation of the present invention. The probe of the present invention preferably has a label. Non-limiting examples of such labels include fluorescent labels, luminescent labels, radioactive labels, dyes, enzymes, quenchers, moieties that bind to detectable labels, and the like. In a particular embodiment, the probe of the present invention has a polynucleotide comprising a base sequence complementary to a base sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 31-33, 35-37, 39-41, 43-45, 47-49, 51-53, 55-57, 59-61, 63-65, 67-69, and 89-118, and a label. The present invention further provides a kit comprising the above primer set and the corresponding restriction enzyme. In a specific embodiment, the kit of the present invention comprises the primer set shown in Table 1 and the corresponding restriction enzyme. The present invention also provides a kit comprising a primer set capable of amplifying by PCR a region having a base sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 31 to 70 and 89 to 118, and the above-mentioned corresponding probe of the present invention. These primer sets, probes, and kits can be used to detect the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) of the present invention, can be used in the screening method of the present invention, etc. Furthermore, these primer sets and kits may contain instructions including explanations regarding the detection of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) of the present invention or the screening method of the present invention, such as instruction manuals, site information including information on the method of use (e.g., URL, two-dimensional code), media on which information on the method of use is recorded (e.g., flexible disk, CD, DVD, Blu-ray disk, memory card, USB memory), etc. In some embodiments, the present invention provides a screening kit for the Stevia plant of the present invention, comprising a reagent for detecting the presence and / or absence of at least one of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10). The reagent may comprise primers and / or probes for use in the CAPS method, the dCAPS method, or a real-time PCR method (e.g., a hybridization method such as TaqMan PCR, an intercalation method, etc.). In a specific embodiment, the reagent for detecting the presence and / or absence of at least one of the genetic features (1) to (10) includes a combination of a primer set and a restriction enzyme for detecting at least one of the above genetic features (1) to (10) by the dCAPS method, for example, a combination of a primer set and a restriction enzyme as described in Table 1, or a combination of a primer set that amplifies a mutation site of the present invention (e.g., a site containing a sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 31 to 70) and a probe having a nucleotide sequence complementary to a site related to at least one of the genetic features (1) to (10) (e.g., a site containing a sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 31 to 33, 35 to 37, 39 to 41, 43 to 45, 47 to 49, 51 to 53, 55 to 57, 59 to 61, 63 to 65, 67 to 69), which can be used in a real-time PCR method (e.g., a hybridization method such as TaqMan PCR), and the like. 4. Dead tissue or dead cells of the present invention In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dead tissue or cell of the stevia plant of the present invention, a stevia plant selected by the screening method of the present invention, or a stevia plant produced by the production method of the present invention (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "dead tissue or dead cell of the present invention"). "Dead" means a state in which the plant does not have the ability to reproduce, grow, reproduce, or grow, and includes natural death without artificial manipulation, as well as death caused by artificial manipulation such as cutting, crushing, heating (including heating through a gas such as air, heating through a liquid such as water, and heating through steam such as water vapor), freezing, drying, and freeze-drying. Dead tissue means tissue in which all of the cells contained therein are dead, and includes a dead plant (a plant in which all of the cells contained therein are dead). Specific examples of the dead tissue or dead cell of the present invention include dead tissue or cells other than seeds. More specifically, dead embryos, meristematic cells, pollen, leaves, roots, root tips, petals, protoplasts, leaf slices, or calluses are included. Dried leaves are preferred. The dead tissue or dead cells of the present invention can be used as raw materials for the extracts, steviol glycosides, pharmaceuticals, flavorings, foods and beverages, etc. described below. 5. Manufacturing method of plant-derived extract and products using said extract In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing an extract containing steviol glycosides (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "the method for producing the extract of the present invention"), which comprises a step of obtaining an extract from a plant of the present invention, a stevia plant selected by the screening method of the present invention, or a stevia plant produced by the production method of the present invention, or from seeds, leaves (e.g., dried leaves or fresh leaves), tissues, tissue cultures, or cells of said plant. Further provided is an extract containing steviol glycoside from the plant of the present invention, a stevia plant selected by the screening method of the present invention, or a stevia plant produced by the production method of the present invention, seeds, leaves (e.g., dried leaves or fresh leaves), tissues, tissue cultures, or cells of said plant, or dead tissues or dead cells of the present invention (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "the extract of the present invention"). The extract of the present invention is preferably produced by the production method of the extract of the present invention. Furthermore, a method for producing steviol glycoside (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "the production method of the steviol glycoside of the present invention") is provided, which comprises a step of purifying steviol glycoside from the extract of the present invention. The production method of steviol glycoside of the present invention may further comprise a step of obtaining an extract containing steviol glycoside from the plant of the present invention, a stevia plant selected by the screening method of the present invention, or a stevia plant produced by the production method of the present invention, or dead tissues or dead cells of the present invention. An extract containing steviol glycosides can be obtained, for example, by reacting fresh or dried leaves of the plant of the present invention with an appropriate solvent (aqueous solvent such as water, or organic solvent such as alcohol, ether, and acetone). The extraction conditions can be determined by referring to the methods described in Ohta et al. or WO2010 / 038911 or the methods described in the Examples below. Alternatively, steviol glycosides can be purified from an extract containing steviol glycosides using known methods such as ethyl acetate or other organic solvent:water gradients, chromatography (e.g., High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Ultra (High) Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC), gas chromatography, etc.), and Time-of-Flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS). The type of steviol glycoside is not particularly limited and includes RebA, RebB, RebC, RebD, RebE, RebF, RebG, RebI, RebJ, RebK, RebM, RebN, RebO, RebQ, RebR, dulcoside A, rubusoside, steviolmonoside, steviolbioside, ST, etc. In a preferred embodiment, the steviol glycoside includes RebD, RebE, RebM, RebN, ST, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the mass ratio of RebN to RebC (RebN / RebC) in the extract of the present invention is 3.8 or more. The value of RebN / RebC in this embodiment is not limited, and may be, for example, 3.8 or more, 3.9 or more, 4 or more, 4.1 or more, 4.2 or more, 4.3 or more, 4.4 or more, 4.5 or more, 4.6 or more, 4.7 or more, 4.8 or more, 4.9 or more, 5 or more, 5.1 or more, 5.2 or more, 5.3 or more, 5.4 or more, 5.5 or more, 5.6 or more, 5.7 or more, 5.8 or more, 5.9 or more, 6 or more, 6.1 or more, 6.2 or more, 6.3 or more, 6.4 or more, 6.5 or more, etc. The upper limit of RebN / RebC is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, 15, 12, 10, 8, etc. In some embodiments, the extract of the present invention has a higher RebN content, RebD content, RebE content, ST content, TSG content, the total content of RebN and RebD, the total content of RebN and RebM, the total content of RebD and RebE, the total content of RebN, RebD and RebM, and / or the total content of RebN, RebD and RebE compared to a Stevia species not having any of the genetic characteristics (4'), (7'), and (9) of the present invention. The extract of the present invention has a RebN content, a RebD content, a total content of RebN and RebD, a total content of RebN and RebM, a total content of RebD and RebE, a total content of RebN, RebD and RebM, and / or a total content of RebN, RebD and RebE that is about 5% or more, about 10% or more, about 20% or more, about 30% or more, about 40% or more, about 50% or more, about 100% or more, about 150% or more, about 200% or more, about 250% or more, about 300% or more, about 350% or more, about 400% or more, about 450% or more, about 500% or more, about 55% or more, compared to an extract obtained from a stevia plant body not having any of the genetic characteristics (4'), (7'), and (9) of the present invention. 0% or more, about 600% or more, about 650% or more, about 700% or more, about 750% or more, about 800% or more, about 850% or more, about 900% or more, about 950% or more, about 1000% or more, about 1050% or more, about 1100% or more, about 1150% or more, about 1200% or more, about 1250% or more, about 1300% or more, about 1350% or more, It may be about 1400% or more, about 1450% or more, about 1500% or more, about 1550% or more, about 1600% or more, about 1650% or more, about 1700% or more, about 1750% or more, about 1800% or more, about 1850% or more, about 1900% or more, about 1950% or more, about 2000% or more, about 2050% or more, or about 2100% or more. Here, the extract of the present invention and an extract obtained from a Stevia plant body not having any of the genetic characteristics (4'), (7'), and (9) of the present invention may be obtained by the same method. By mixing the extract of the present invention thus obtained and / or the steviol glycoside obtained by the method for producing a steviol glycoside of the present invention with other ingredients, a novel food, drink, sweetener composition, flavor, or pharmaceutical product having an increased steviol glycoside content can be produced. Thus, as another embodiment, the present invention provides a method for producing a food, drink, sweetener composition, flavor, or pharmaceutical product, comprising a step of mixing the extract of the present invention and / or the steviol glycoside obtained by the method for producing a steviol glycoside of the present invention with other ingredients. Furthermore, the present invention provides a novel food, drink, sweetener composition, flavor, or pharmaceutical product having an increased steviol glycoside content obtained by the above-mentioned production method. Here, the term "food, drink, or pharmaceutical product" includes beverages and foods. Thus, in one embodiment, the present invention provides a novel beverage, food, sweetener composition, flavor, or pharmaceutical product, and also provides a method for producing the beverage, food, sweetener composition, flavor, or pharmaceutical product. Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for producing a steviol glycoside-containing composition, comprising a step of mixing the extract of the present invention and / or the steviol glycoside obtained by the method for producing a steviol glycoside of the present invention with other ingredients. Furthermore, the present invention provides a steviol glycoside-containing composition obtained by the production method, which contains the steviol glycoside and other ingredients. The above-mentioned "other ingredients" may include ingredients that are not present in natural stevia plants or non-natural ingredients. Therefore, the composition may be a non-natural composition. The composition may be, for example, a pharmaceutical composition, a flavor composition, a beverage composition, or a food composition. 6. Nucleotide sequence related to the plant of the present invention In another aspect, the present invention provides a base sequence related to the plant of the present invention. The nucleotide sequence of the stevia plant having the genetic characteristic (1) comprises or consists of a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 31 to 34. The nucleotide sequence of the stevia plant having the genetic characteristic (2) comprises or consists of a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 35 to 38. The nucleotide sequence of the stevia plant having the genetic characteristic (3) comprises or consists of a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 39 to 42. The nucleotide sequence of the stevia plant having the genetic characteristic (4) comprises or consists of a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 43 to 46. The nucleotide sequence of the stevia plant having the genetic characteristic (5) comprises or consists of a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 47 to 50. The nucleotide sequence of the stevia plant having the genetic characteristic (6) comprises or consists of a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 51 to 54. The nucleotide sequence of the stevia plant having the genetic characteristic (7) comprises or consists of a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 55 to 58. The nucleotide sequence of the stevia plant having the genetic characteristic (8) comprises or consists of a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 59 to 62. The nucleotide sequence of the stevia plant having the genetic characteristic (9) comprises or consists of a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 63 to 66. The nucleotide sequence of the stevia plant having the genetic characteristic (10) comprises or consists of a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 67 to 70. Examples of the present invention are described below, but the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments. [Example 1] Identification of mutations associated with high RebN phenotype The steviol glycoside content of stevia lines cultivated at the Suntory World Research Center was measured, and genome sequencing was performed. Specifically, 0.25 g of fresh leaves were sampled from each line, dried by freeze-drying, and 0.05 g of the crushed dried material was added to 100 times the amount (5 mL) of pure water. Extraction was performed by ultrasonic treatment for 20 minutes, followed by centrifugation and filtration, and the sample solution was diluted 60 times with 32% acetonitrile. 1 mL of this sample solution was subjected to LC-MS / MS analysis using the MRM mode of LCMS8050 (Shimadzu), and the concentrations of RebA, RebB, RebC, RebD, RebE, RebF, RebI, RebJ, RebM, RebN, and ST were quantified. Furthermore, genomic DNA was extracted from the sampled fresh leaves and sequenced using a sequencer (HiSeq 2500, Illumina). Analysis of the data on steviol glycoside content revealed that there were lineages with particularly high RebN content. The steviol glycoside contents of representative lineages from the high RebN group and the low RebN group with relatively low RebN content are shown in Tables 2 and 3. In the tables, TSG indicates total steviol glycosides. The values ​​of each steviol glycoside are the weight percentages in the dry leaves, and the value of TSG is the sum of the values ​​of all measured steviol glycosides (i.e., RebA, RebB, RebC, RebD, RebE, RebF, RebI, RebJ, RebM, RebN, and ST). Welch's t-test (two-tailed) was used to evaluate whether there was a statistically significant difference in the content of each steviol glycoside between the high-RebN and low-RebN groups.The former had significantly higher contents of RebD, RebE, RebN, ST, TSG, RebD+N (the sum of RebD and RebN; same below), RebD+M+N, RebN+M, RebD+E, and RebD+E+N, as well as the ratio of RebN content to RebC content (RebN / RebC), and the RebI content was significantly lower than the latter (Table 4). In the table, the values ​​are average values, "++" indicates a higher content in the high RebN group than the low RebN group with P<0.01, "-" indicates a lower content in the high RebN group than the low RebN group with P<0.05, and "±" indicates that no significant difference was observed between the contents of the two groups at the significance level of 0.05. Analysis of the differences in genome sequences between the high-RebN and low-RebN strains revealed the following genetic features only in the high-RebN strains: (1) Homozygosity for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 34) in which the sequence corresponding to positions 151 to 152 of SEQ ID NO: 1 is CCA. (2') Heterozygosity for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 38) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 2 is G. (3) Homozygous for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 42) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 3 is T. (4') Heterozygosity for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 46) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 4 is G. (5') Heterozygous for an allele (SEQ ID NO:50) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:5 is G. (6') Heterozygosity for an allele (SEQ ID NO:54) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:6 is A. (7') Heterozygosity for an allele (SEQ ID NO:58) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:7 is A. (8) Homozygous for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 62) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 8 is G. (9) Homozygous for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 66) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 103 of SEQ ID NO: 9 is G. (10) Homozygous for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 70) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 10 is A. (11) Homozygous for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 120) in which the sequence corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 119 is A. (12) Homozygous for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 122) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 121 is A. (13) Homozygous for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 124) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 123 is G. (14) Homozygous for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 126) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 125 is T. (15) Homozygous for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 128) in which the sequence corresponding to positions 151 to 152 of SEQ ID NO: 127 is CATG. (16) Homozygous for the allele (SEQ ID NO: 130) in which the sequence corresponding to positions 151 to 154 of SEQ ID NO: 129 is TAAAACCTACATACTAAA. (17) Homozygous for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 132) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 131 is G. (18) Homozygous for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 134) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 133 is A. (19) Homozygous for an allele (SEQ ID NO: 136) in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 135 is G. (20) Homozygous for the allele (SEQ ID NO: 138) in which the sequence corresponding to positions 143 to 154 of SEQ ID NO: 137 is CTTTTTTTT. [Example 2] Development of a marker for detecting high RebN individuals To improve the efficiency of detecting genetic features specific to high-RebN strains, we constructed dCAPS primers to detect genetic features (4'), (7'), and (9) and examined whether the presence or absence of these genetic features in individual individuals could be detected by the dCAPS method. The following dCAPS primers and restriction enzymes were used: Detection of each genetic feature by the dCAPS method was carried out as follows. First, genomic DNA was extracted from fresh leaves of each individual tested in Example 1, and PCR was carried out using the above dCAPS primers corresponding to each genetic feature. The above restriction enzymes corresponding to each genetic feature were added to the PCR products, and the enzyme reaction was carried out at 37°C. Electrophoresis of the restriction enzyme treated products was carried out using a microchip electrophoresis device LabChip GX Touch HT (PerkinElmer), and the presence or absence of the genetic feature was determined based on the obtained band pattern. The band patterns of each marker are shown in Figure 21. Genetic features (4') and (7') are heterozygous, and the dCAPS primer is designed to be cleaved when a mutation is present, so individuals with both decomposition product and non-decomposition product bands were judged to have the genetic feature (〇), and individuals with only the non-decomposition product band were judged to have no genetic feature (×). Genetic feature (9) is homozygous, and the dCAPS primer is designed to be cleaved when a mutation is present, so individuals with the decomposition product band were judged to have the genetic feature (〇), and individuals with only the non-decomposition product band or both the decomposition product and non-decomposition product bands were judged to have no genetic feature (×). As shown in the table below, genetic features (4'), (7'), and (9) were detected in all high-RebN strains, whereas genetic features (4'), (7'), and (9) were not detected in all low-RebN strains.

Claims

1. A stevia plant having at least one of the following genetic characteristics (1) to (10): (1) homozygous for an allele in which the sequence corresponding to positions 151 to 152 of SEQ ID NO:1 is CCA. (2) homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:2 is G. (3) homozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:3 is T. (4) homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:4 is G. (5) homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:5 is G. (6) homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:6 is A. (7) homozygous or heterozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:7 is A. (8) homozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:8 is G. (9) Homozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 103 of SEQ ID NO: 9 is G. (10) Homozygous for an allele in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO: 10 is A.

2. A stevia plant having at least one of the following chemical characteristics (i) to (viii): (i) a rebaudioside (Reb)N content of 2.2% or more per unit mass of dried leaf; (ii) a RebD content of 6.3% or more per unit mass of dried leaf; (iii) a combined content of RebN and RebD of 7.4% or more per unit mass of dried leaf; (iv) a combined content of RebN and RebM of 2.9% or more per unit mass of dried leaf; (v) a combined content of RebD and RebE of 5.8% or more per unit mass of dried leaf; (vi) a combined content of RebN, RebD and RebM of 9% or more per unit mass of dried leaf; (vii) a combined content of RebN, RebD and RebE of 5.9% or more per unit mass of dried leaf; and (viii) a mass ratio of RebN to RebC of 3.8 or more.

3. Dead tissue or dead cells of a plant body according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A method of producing the stevia plant of claim 1 or 2, comprising the step of crossing the plant of claim 1 or 2 with a second stevia plant.

5. A method for producing a stevia plant according to claim 1 or 2, comprising the step of introducing at least one of the following mutations into the genome of a stevia plant: (1) a mutation in which the sequence corresponding to positions 151-152 of SEQ ID NO:1 is changed to CCA; (2) a mutation in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:2 is changed to G; (3) a mutation in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:3 is changed to T; (4) a mutation in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:4 is changed to G; (5) a mutation in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:5 is changed to G; (6) a mutation in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:6 is changed to A; (7) a mutation in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:7 is changed to A; (8) a mutation in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:8 is changed to G; (9) a mutation in which the base at the position corresponding to position 103 of SEQ ID NO:9 is changed to G; (10) a mutation in which the base at the position corresponding to position 151 of SEQ ID NO:10 is changed to A.

6. An extract of a plant body as claimed in claim 1 or 2, or of dead tissue or cells as claimed in claim 3.

7. A method for producing an extract containing steviol glycosides, comprising a step of obtaining an extract from a plant body described in claim 1 or 2, or a dead tissue or cell described in claim 3.

8. A method for producing steviol glycosides, comprising the step of purifying steviol glycosides from the extract described in claim 6.

9. A method for producing a food or beverage, a sweetener composition, a flavoring, or a medicine, comprising the steps of: providing an extract of a plant body as described in claim 1 or 2, an extract of dead tissue or dead cells as described in claim 3, or an extract as described in claim 6; and adding the extract to a raw material for the food or beverage, a sweetener composition, a flavoring, or a medicine.

10. A food or drink, a sweetener composition, a flavoring, or a pharmaceutical comprising an extract of a plant body as described in claim 1 or 2, an extract of dead tissue or dead cells as described in claim 3, or an extract as described in claim 6.

11. A method for producing a food or beverage, a sweetener composition, a flavoring, or a pharmaceutical, comprising: a step of purifying steviol glycoside from the extract according to claim 6; and a step of adding the purified steviol glycoside to a raw material for the food or beverage, a sweetener composition, a flavoring, or a pharmaceutical.

12. A method for screening a stevia plant having at least one of the chemical characteristics (i) to (viii) according to claim 2, comprising the step of detecting the presence and / or absence of at least one of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) according to claim 1 from a test stevia plant.

13. A screening kit for a Stevia plant having at least one of the chemical characteristics (i) to (viii) according to claim 2, comprising a reagent for detecting the presence and / or absence of at least one of the genetic characteristics (1) to (10) according to claim 1.

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