科學(xué)家利用蘑菇的發(fā)光基因培育出了在黑暗中最亮的植物

科學(xué)家利用蘑菇的發(fā)光基因培育出了在黑暗中最亮的植物

Bioluminescence brings light to the ocean depths, turns beaches into nocturnal wonderlands, and allows fireflies to brighten our nights, but plants never mastered the art of bringing light into the world on their own. The transfer of bioluminescent firefly genes into plants was an early demonstration of transgenic technologies, but a new announcement promises to far exceed those short-lived glows.

生物發(fā)光給海洋深處帶來了光明，把海灘變成了夜間的仙境，讓螢火蟲照亮了我們的夜晚，但植物從來沒有掌握把光帶到這個(gè)世界的藝術(shù)。將發(fā)光的螢火蟲基因轉(zhuǎn)移到植物中是轉(zhuǎn)基因技術(shù)的早期示范，但一項(xiàng)新的聲明承諾將遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過那些短暫的發(fā)光。

Bacterial bioluminescent genes products proved toxic when introduced to plants, and firefly light didn't last long. Now Nature Biotechnology reports tobacco plants modified to incorporate genes from bioluminescent mushrooms have similar health measures and seed production to their wild counterparts, other than growing 12 percent taller, and the glow lasts the plants' whole lives.

細(xì)菌生物發(fā)光基因產(chǎn)物被證明是有毒的，而螢火蟲的光持續(xù)時(shí)間不長(zhǎng)。現(xiàn)在，《自然生物技術(shù)》雜志報(bào)道稱，將生物發(fā)光蘑菇的基因改造成煙草植物后，除了能長(zhǎng)高12%外，它們的健康措施和種子產(chǎn)量與野生同類植物相似，而且這種發(fā)光能持續(xù)植物的整個(gè)生命周期。

Stephen Luntz

“Thirty years ago, I helped to create the first luminescent plant using a gene from fireflies,” said Dr Keith Wood in a statement. “These new plants can produce a much brighter and more steady glow, which is fully embodied within their genetic code." The appropriately named Wood is CEO of Light Bio, a company planning to sell ornamental house plants that will allow you to find your way in the dark.

基斯·伍德博士在一份聲明中說:“30年前，我?guī)椭鷦?chuàng)造了第一種利用螢火蟲基因發(fā)光的植物。”“這些新植物可以產(chǎn)生更明亮、更穩(wěn)定的光，這完全體現(xiàn)在它們的遺傳密碼中。”伍德是Light Bio公司的首席執(zhí)行官，該公司計(jì)劃出售能讓你在黑暗中找到路的觀賞性室內(nèi)植物。

Sales to members of the public who want to make their houses look like the forests in Avatar may represent the commercial driver for the idea, but there are scientific benefits as well. The fluorescent jellyfish protein's discovery won a Nobel Prize for allowing scientists to identify which genes are activated at a particular time. A brighter and lasting glow could take botanists even further, allowing them to observe plant activity in previously impossible ways, including an instant healthcheck. The authors found plants glow most brightly when growing rapidly, and light output increases in the presence of ethylene – such as is produced by ripe banana skins – which encourages fruit to ripen.

那些想讓自己的房子看起來像《阿凡達(dá)》里的森林一樣的公眾銷售可能成為了這個(gè)想法的商業(yè)驅(qū)動(dòng)，但也有科學(xué)上的好處。熒光水母蛋白的發(fā)現(xiàn)獲得了諾貝爾獎(jiǎng)，因?yàn)樗箍茖W(xué)家能夠識(shí)別在特定時(shí)間激活的基因。一種更明亮和持久的光可以讓植物學(xué)家們走得更遠(yuǎn)，讓他們能夠用以前不可能的方式觀察植物活動(dòng)，包括即時(shí)的健康檢查。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，植物在快速生長(zhǎng)的時(shí)候會(huì)發(fā)出最明亮的光，當(dāng)乙烯(比如成熟的香蕉皮產(chǎn)生的乙烯)存在時(shí)，植物的光輸出會(huì)增加，從而促進(jìn)果實(shí)成熟。

The glow at different stages of a modified tobacco plant's life shows how much brighter they get when in flower. Mitiouchkina et al/Nature Biotechnology

The team responsible do not expect cities to replace streetlights with bioluminescent trees, as other teams have hoped. Not only is the light unlikely to ever be bright enough for that, but what is produced would spread in all directions, particularly up, greatly increasing light pollution compared to lights focussed downwards, and hindering our capacity to see the stars. Nightclubs, on the other hand, may love the indoor decor.

負(fù)責(zé)這項(xiàng)研究的團(tuán)隊(duì)并不期望城市會(huì)像其他團(tuán)隊(duì)希望的那樣，用生物熒光樹來取代路燈。不僅因?yàn)楣獠惶赡茏銐蛄粒宜a(chǎn)生的光會(huì)向四面八方擴(kuò)散，特別是向上傳播，與向下聚焦的光相比，會(huì)大大增加光污染，并妨礙我們觀察星星的能力。另一方面，夜總會(huì)可能喜歡室內(nèi)裝飾。

If all that was required to make plants glow like the brightest mushrooms was to move a single gene, the achievement would have been unlocked decades ago. Instead, the researchers had to understand the complex genetics that allows some fungi to convert caffeic acid into a precursor molecule, which releases light when it is oxidized, before being converted back to caffeic acid. The cycle requires the involvement of four different enzymes, the genes for each of which need to be transferred.

如果讓植物像最亮的蘑菇一樣發(fā)光所需要的只是移動(dòng)一個(gè)基因，那么這項(xiàng)成就早在幾十年前就已經(jīng)實(shí)現(xiàn)了。相反，研究人員必須了解復(fù)雜的遺傳機(jī)制，使一些真菌能夠?qū)⒖Х纫蛩徂D(zhuǎn)化為前體分子，這種前體分子在被氧化時(shí)釋放光，然后再轉(zhuǎn)化為咖啡因酸。這個(gè)循環(huán)需要四種不同的酶參與，每種酶的基因都需要被轉(zhuǎn)移。

Plants use caffeic acid to make lignin, which gives cell walls their strength, so once the enzymes are there they have an abundance of material to work on.

植物用咖啡酸來制造木質(zhì)素，而木質(zhì)素能增強(qiáng)細(xì)胞壁的強(qiáng)度，所以一旦有了酶，就有大量的物質(zhì)可以利用。

Tobacco plants were chosen because their genetics are well understood (not through any desire to make glow-in-the-dark cigarettes). Having demonstrated success in that area the authors advanced to more marketable plants, with roses and petunia flowers producing particularly bright glows.

選擇煙草植物是因?yàn)樗鼈兊幕蚝芎美斫?不是因?yàn)橄胍圃炷茉诤诎抵邪l(fā)光的香煙)。在這一領(lǐng)域取得了成功之后，作者們又轉(zhuǎn)向了更有市場(chǎng)的植物，玫瑰和矮牽?；ㄓ绕淠馨l(fā)出明亮的光芒。

That may not be the end of the team's ambitions, however. The paper notes animals do not have caffeic acid, but additional enzymes could make it out of common molecules. Glowing pets, anyone?

然而，這可能并不是該團(tuán)隊(duì)雄心的終點(diǎn)。這篇論文指出，動(dòng)物體內(nèi)不含咖啡酸，但是額外的酶可以使普通分子變成咖啡酸。發(fā)光的寵物,有人知道嗎?