Scientists create glow-in-the-dark plants

科学家创造出能在黑暗中发光的植物

音频收听：科学家创造出能发光的植物

(CNN)Fans of the "Avatar" movie will have long dreamed of lush jungles teeming with glowing plants.

(CNN)《阿凡达》的粉丝们一直梦想着一个神奇的世界，茂密的丛林里长满了发光植物。

But fluorescent foliage may no longer be the stuff of science fiction, as scientists have found a way to grow glow-in-the-dark plants, which radiate and maintain a mysterious green gleam for their whole life cycle.

但是让植物发光可能不再是科幻小说里的东西了，科学家们已经找到了一种方法来种植可以在黑暗中发光的植物，这种植物在整个生命周期中都能持续发出一种神秘的绿色光芒。

Bioluminescence - the emission of light by an organism - occurs in a wide range of animals and microorganisms, including some fungi, insects, fish, marine invertebrates and bacteria.

生物荧光，也就是生物体发光的现象，广泛存在于动物和微生物中，包括一些真菌、昆虫、鱼、海洋无脊椎动物和细菌。

Some of the most famous examples of the phenomena include the flickering of fireflies, or the crashing of electric blue waves in tropical seas.

这些现象中最著名的例子莫过于闪烁的萤火虫，以及热带海洋中的电蓝色海浪。

After discovering that the bioluminescence found in some mushrooms was metabolically similar to some of the natural processes found in plants, scientists were able transfer DNA sequences into tobacco plants, causing them to give off a bright green glow. Researchers found that this glow lasted for the whole of the plant's life cycle, from seedling to maturity.

在发现一些蘑菇中的生物荧光在新陈代谢上与植物中常见的自然过程相似后，科学家们将DNA序列转移到烟草植物中，使它们发出明亮的绿光。研究人员发现，植物从幼苗到成长成熟的整个生命周期都能够持续发光。

"We show that you can transfer four genes from these glowing mushrooms into the plants -- and wire them into plant metabolisms -- so that the plants start to glow in the dark," Karen Sarkisyan, one of the lead authors of a study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology on Monday, told CNN.

“我们证明，你可以把这些发光蘑菇的四种基因转移到植物中，并将它们与植物的新陈代谢联系起来，让植物在黑暗中开始发光，”周一发表在《自然生物技术》杂志上的一项生物研究的主要作者之一凯伦·萨基斯杨告诉CNN。

Unlike other luminescence technologies, he told CNN, the team's recent discovery would allow plants to glow in the dark without having to use external chemicals.

他告诉CNN，与其他发光技术不同，该团队最近的发现可以让植物在黑暗中发光，而不需要使用外部化学物质。

The technology could be used for a variety of purposes, including the creation of decorative glowing plants and flowers, researchers said.

研究人员说，这项技术可以用于多种用途，包括创造发光的花和其他观赏植物。

Light radiating from the plants could also be used to study their inner workings -- researchers noticed flickering patterns and waves of light in the organisms, revealing plant behavior not usually seen.

植物发出的光也可以用来研究它们的内部活动，研究人员注意到生物体中光的闪烁的模式和光波，揭示了通常无法看见的植物行为。

plants have not previously exhibited the phenomena.

萨基斯杨告诉CNN，虽然生物性发光在自然界中普遍存在，但植物以前从未出现过这种现象。

"We tend to overlook plants, we tend to not appreciate how complex or how alive they are. They send a lot of different signals, they integrate and make a lot of developmental decisions, and we don't really appreciate them," he said.

“我们往往会忽略植物，没有意识到它们是多么复杂，多么有生命力。它们发出许多不同的信号，整合并做出许多决策，而我们并未真正欣赏它们，”他说。

"Making them glow somehow builds a new relationship with the plants, and you can appreciate much easier how alive they are," he added.

他补充说:“让它们发光在某种程度上与植物建立了一种新的关系，你可以更容易地体会到它们是多么的鲜活。”

In collaborative research, the scientists say they have been able to create plants that glow "ten-fold" brighter, without harming the foliage.

在合作研究中，科学家们表示，他们已经能够在不伤害叶子的情况下，创造出比原来“亮十倍”的植物。

They say that other plants -- including petunias, roses and periwinkles -- could be adapted to make them glow, and that in future, plants could even be adapted to change their color, brightness, or even to respond to their surroundings.

他们说，这项技术也可以使其他植物发光，括矮牵牛、玫瑰和长春花。在未来，植物甚至可以改变它们的颜色、亮度，甚至对周围环境做出反应。

原文链接：https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/27/world/glowing-plants-intl-scli-scn/index.html

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