English 中文网 漫画网 爱新闻iNews 翻译论坛
中国网站品牌栏目(频道)
当前位置: Language Tips > Special Speed News VOA慢速

Steps toward drought-resistant crops, 'designer' rice

[ 2012-01-18 12:34]     字号 [] [] []  
免费订阅30天China Daily双语新闻手机报:移动用户编辑短信CD至106580009009

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

A discovery in a laboratory could help lead to new generation of drought-resistant crops. Drought conditions cause plants to produce a stress hormone called abscisic acid. This chemical activates a set of protein molecules calledreceptors. These receptors then activate a series of changes to help the plant survive.

The natural reaction of the receptors is to close so-called guard cells on and inside the leaves. That closure decreases water loss and stops the plant from growing to save water during a drought.

Researchers say they have discovered a way to "supercharge," or increase, this reaction. Sean Cutler at the University of California, Riverside, led the team. The scientists engineered abscisic acid receptors that can be turned on at will and stay on. They tested hundreds of versions of engineered receptor genes until they found ones that worked right together.

The team worked with Arabidopsis, a plant often used in experiments. The results recently appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Professor Cutler says testing the new receptors in the field may take several years. He also points out that drought is not the only cause of plant stress.

SEAN CUTLER: "If a plant grows in the deserts normally, like a cactus, what would be stressful for a crop plant is not stressful for a cactus because it has evolved to live in that ecological niche where the water is very rare. So it would really mean, you know, any significant deviation from the normal or ideal growth conditions for an organism."

In another development, scientists have produced a new system for analyzing genetic markers in rice plants. A genetic marker is a DNA sequence with a known location. It can help scientists identify nearby genes linked to individual qualities, or traits.

Anna McClung and Georgia Eizenga are genetic scientists with the United States Department of Agriculture. Their new system will let researchers genetically "fingerprint" rice varieties and gain a better understanding of the markers.

Until now, breeders have been limited to using perhaps 200 markers. But modern technology lets scientists identify differences throughout the plant's genome, its genetic map. Ms McClung says that means the ability to identify new genes that control biological pathways.

ANNA McCLUNG: "You know, biological pathways in the plant that may control yield, disease resistance, nutritional quality ... "

The finding could make it easier in the future for farmers to grow "designer rice," rice bred to meet their specific needs.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Karen Leggett.

abscisic: 脱落酸

receptors: (细胞的)受体

cactus: 仙人掌

Related Stories:

As drought intensifies, Kenya fears famine

Some crops can help farmers prepare for disasters

Drought-resistant seeds to help growers

Researchers seek drought-resistant crops

(来源:VOA 编辑:Rosy)

 
中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
 

关注和订阅

人气排行

翻译服务

中国日报网翻译工作室

我们提供:媒体、文化、财经法律等专业领域的中英互译服务
电话:010-84883468
邮件:translate@chinadaily.com.cn