'Barcode' to help identify plants “条码”帮忙鉴定物种
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2009-07-30 06:16 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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An international team of scientists has agreed on a standard "DNA1 barcode" for plants that will allow botanists3 to identify species quickly and easily.

一组国际科学家为植物制定了统一的“DNA条码”,这将帮助植物学家更快、更简单地区分物种。

There are an estimated 400,000 species of land plants on the planet
There are an estimated 400,000 species of land plants on the planet

They hope the agreement will lead to the formation of a global plant DNA library, which can be shared by the scientific community.

The barcodes(条码) are expected to have a number of uses, including identifying illegal trade in endangered species.

The findings appear in the Proceedings4 of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Identification is important," said lead author Dr Peter Hollingsworth, head of genetics and conservation at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Scotland.

"It is the link between a given plant and the accumulated information available for that species.

"It is not possible to know whether a plant is common or rare, poisonous or edible5(可实用的), being traded legally or illegally, unless it can be identified."

Saving time

Co-author Robyn Cowan, a conservation geneticist at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said the development would allow larger areas to be surveyed more quickly.

"We are short of botanists(植物学家) and their expertise6(专家的意见,专门技术) in a lot of places around the world," she told BBC News.

"This is one way that we will be able to increase our information and understanding of biodiversity(生物品种) and where things are growing around the world."

Samples could now be sent back to laboratories to be processed and identified, she explained, cutting out the need for a specialist botanist2 to be on location.

Ms Cowan said the new method would also help to put the necessary conservation measures in place quickly, to save endangered species.

"And there are also more applied7 uses; in forensics(辩论练习,辩论术), for example," she said.

"We have also done a little bit of preliminary work on Chinese herbal medicines(中草药). We have been checking that people are getting what they should be getting in terms of medication and active ingredients(活性组分,有效成分).

"One thing that is really good about this process is that you can identify plants from different life stages or just fragments of plants.

"For example, if you are looking at trade in endangered species and you have things that are not flowering, or are just seedlings8, it can be incredibly difficult to positively9 identify the plants."

DNA differences

Ms Cowan explained why it had been more of a challenge to find a suitable DNA barcode for plants than for animals, which had been in use since 2003.

"The DNA in land plants behaves, in some ways, quite differently to DNA in animals, so we were not able to use the same [marker]," she said.

"We had to search for the best solution because a barcode needs certain characteristics.

"It needs to be technologically10 easy to deal with; it needs to be readily obtainable from degraded material (very old samples or fragments); and it needs to be variable enough between species to be able to separate them but not too variable within species."

The team assessed seven potential "barcodes", testing them on a common set of samples. Eventually, they chose two regions of DNA to form the plant barcode."

"The conclusion we have come to will give us a good basic barcode to use."

The four-year project was carried out by the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) Plant Working Group, which consists of 52 scientists from 10 nations.

David Schindel, executive secretary of CBOL, applauded the breakthrough: "The selection of standard barcode regions has been a slow and difficult process because of the complex nature of plant genetics."

Dr Schindel added that the development would "enable plant barcoding to accelerate rapidly".

One use will be to build a DNA database for the world's 100,000 tree species, many of which are deemed to be of either conservation or economic importance.



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 DNA 4u3z1l     
(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸
参考例句:
  • DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
  • Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。
2 botanist kRTyL     
n.植物学家
参考例句:
  • The botanist introduced a new species of plant to the region.那位植物学家向该地区引入了一种新植物。
  • I had never talked with a botanist before,and I found him fascinating.我从没有接触过植物学那一类的学者,我觉得他说话极有吸引力。
3 botanists 22548cbfc651e84a87843ff3505735d9     
n.植物学家,研究植物的人( botanist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Botanists had some difficulty categorizing the newly found plant. 植物学家们不大容易确定这种新发现的植物的种类。 来自辞典例句
  • Botanists refer this flower to the rose family. 植物学家将这花归入蔷薇科。 来自辞典例句
4 proceedings Wk2zvX     
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼
5 edible Uqdxx     
n.食品,食物;adj.可食用的
参考例句:
  • Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
  • This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得,那种吃不得。
6 expertise fmTx0     
n.专门知识(或技能等),专长
参考例句:
  • We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
  • You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。
7 applied Tz2zXA     
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用
参考例句:
  • She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
  • This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。
8 seedlings b277b580afbd0e829dcc6bdb776b4a06     
n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Ninety-five per cent of the new seedlings have survived. 新栽的树苗95%都已成活。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • In such wet weather we must prevent the seedlings from rotting. 这样的阴雨天要防止烂秧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
9 positively vPTxw     
adv.明确地,断然,坚决地;实在,确实
参考例句:
  • She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
  • The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。
10 technologically WqpwY     
ad.技术上地
参考例句:
  • Shanghai is a technologically advanced city. 上海是中国的一个技术先进的城市。
  • Many senior managers are technologically illiterate. 许多高级经理都对技术知之甚少。
TAG标签: plant barcode identify
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