圖2. 在植物還是種子時，將其暴露於某些化學物質中，來‘刺激’它們，能影響其以後生存期間的生長。
‘Priming’ plants by exposing them to certain chemicals while they’re seeds can affect their growth later in life.
Researchers have found that treating seeds with ethylene gas increases both their growth and stress tolerance. This discovery, involving enhanced photosynthesis and carbohydrate production in plants, offers a potential breakthrough in improving crop yields and resilience against environmental stressors.
研究人員們已經發現，使用乙烯氣體處理種子，增加了它們的成長量及壓力耐受性。此發現涉及，於植物中，增強了光合作用及碳水化合物產生。在提高作物產量及對抗環境壓力的適應力上，這提供了潛在的突破性發展。
Just like any other organism, plants can get stressed. Usually, it’s conditions like heat and drought that lead to this stress, and when they’re stressed, plants might not grow as large or produce as much. This can be a problem for farmers, so many scientists have tried genetically modifying plants to be more resilient.
就像任何其他生物，植物也會受到壓力。通常，諸如炎熱及乾旱等，是導致這種壓力的狀況。因此，當它們受到壓力時，植物無法長得一樣大或生產一樣多。對農民來說，這會是一個問題。因此，諸多科學家一直試圖，將植物遺傳改造成為更具適應力。
However plants modified for higher crop yields tend to have a lower stress tolerance because they put more energy into growth than into protection against stresses. Similarly, improving the ability of plants to survive stress often results in plants that produce less because they put more energy into protection than into growth. This conundrum makes it difficult to improve crop production.
然而，為了較高作物產量，經改造的植物，傾向具有較低的壓力耐受性，因為它們將更多的能量用於成長，而不是抵抗壓力。同樣地，改善植物抵抗壓力的能力，往往導致植物產量減少。因為，它們將更多的能量用於保護，而不是生長。這難題，使其難以提高農作物產量。
I have been studying how the plant hormone ethylene regulates growth and stress responses in plants. In a study published in July 2023, my lab made an unexpected and exciting observation. We found that when seeds are germinating in darkness, as they usually are underground, adding ethylene can increase both their growth and stress tolerance.
我一直在研究植物荷爾蒙乙烯，如何調節植物中的成長及壓力反應。於2023年7月，發表的一項研究中，我的實驗室做出了一項，意想不到且令人振奮的觀察結果。我們發現，當種子在黑暗中發芽時(因為它們通常在地下)，添加乙烯能增強它們的成長及壓力耐受性。
Plants can’t move around, so they can’t avoid stressful environmental conditions like heat and drought. They take in a variety of signals from their environment such as light and temperature that shape how they grow, develop, and deal with stressful conditions. As part of this regulation, plants make various hormones that are part of a regulatory network that allows them to adapt to environmental conditions.
植物無法四處移動，因此無法避開炎熱及乾旱等，充滿壓力的環境狀況。它們從環境中吸收，諸如決定它們如何成長、發展及應付充滿壓力之狀況的光及溫度等，各種訊號。作為此種調節的一部分，植物會產生，是使它們得以適應環境狀況之調節網絡一部分的各種激素。
Ethylene was first discovered as a gaseous plant hormone over 100 years ago. Since then, research has shown that all land plants that have been studied make ethylene. In addition to controlling growth and responding to stress, it is also involved in other processes such as causing leaves to change color in the fall and stimulating fruit ripening.
100多年前，乙烯首度被發現，是一種氣態植物激素。打從那時起，研究已經證實，所有已被研究的陸地植物，皆產生乙烯。除了控制成長及對壓力作出反應之外，它也涉及諸如導致葉子在秋天變色，及刺激果實成熟等，其他變化過程。
My lab focuses on how plants and bacteria sense ethylene and on how it interacts with other hormone pathways to regulate plant development. While conducting this research, my group made an accidental discovery.
我的實驗室著重於，植物及細菌如何感知乙烯，及乙烯如何與其他荷爾蒙途徑交互作用，來調節植物成長。在進行此研究時，我的團隊獲得了一個意外的發現。
We’d been running an experiment where we had seeds germinating in a dark room. Seed germination is a critical period in a plant’s life when, under favorable conditions, the seed will transition from being dormant into a seedling.
我們一直在進行一項，使種子於暗室中發芽的實驗。於植物生存期間，種子發芽是一段關鍵時期，在有利條件下，種子會從休眠狀態轉變成為幼苗。
For this experiment, we exposed the seeds to ethylene gas for several days to see what effect this might have. We’d then removed the ethylene. Normally, this is where the experiment would have ended. However, after gathering data on these seedlings, we transferred them to a light cart. This is not something we usually do, but we wanted to grow the plants to adulthood so we could get seeds for future experiments.
為此實驗，我們將種子暴露於乙烯氣體中幾天，以瞭解這會有何影響。然後，我們移除乙烯。通常，這是此項實驗該已結束之處。然而，在收集此些幼苗數據後，我們將它們轉移到一輛輕便的推車上。這並非我們通常做的事。不過，我們想栽培此些植物到成年期，以便我們能獲得，供未來實驗使用的種子。
Several days after placing the seedlings under light, some lab members made the unexpected and startling observation that the plants briefly gassed with ethylene were much larger. They had larger leaves as well as longer and more complex root systems than plants that had not been exposed to ethylene. These plants continued growing at a faster rate throughout their whole lifetime.
在將幼苗置於日照下幾天後，有些實驗室成員獲得了，被短暫供以乙烯的植物，是較大得多之意想不到且令人訝異的觀察結果。除了較長且更複雜的根部體系之外，它們也具有較大的葉子。此些植物在其整個生存期間，持續以較快的速度成長。
圖2. 左邊的植物未經使用乙烯刺激，而右邊的植物經使用乙烯刺激過。這兩植物的生長時間相同。
The plant on the left was not primed with ethylene, while the plant on the right was. Both plants are the same age.
My colleagues and I wanted to know if diverse plant species showed growth stimulation when exposed to ethylene during seed germination. We found that the answer is yes. We tested the effects of short-term ethylene treatment on germinating tomato, cucumber, wheat and arugula seeds – all grew bigger.
我的同僚們與我想知道，不同的植物物種，在種子發芽期間，被暴露於乙烯時，是否展現出成生長刺激作用。我們發現，答案是肯定的。我們測試了，短期乙烯處理，對發芽中之番茄、黃瓜、小麥及芝麻菜種子的影響。它們全長得較大。
But what made this observation unusual and exciting is that the brief ethylene treatment also increased tolerance to various stresses such as salt stress, high temperature and low oxygen conditions.
不過，使此觀察結果不尋常且令人振奮的是，短暫的乙烯處理也提升了，對各種壓力的耐受性，譬如鹽脅迫、高溫及低氧狀況。
Long-term effects on growth and stress tolerance from brief exposure to a stimulus are often called priming effects. You can think of this much like priming a pump, where the priming helps get the pump started easier and sooner.
來自短暫曝露於刺激物，對成長及壓力耐受力的長期影響，通常被稱為啟動效應。您可以將此想像為，啟動一個泵浦，此啟動有助於使泵浦更容易、更快地啟動。
Studies have looked at how plants grow after priming at various ages and stages of development. But seed priming with various chemicals and stresses has probably been the most studied because it is easy to carry out, and, if successful, it can be used by farmers.
諸多研究一直著眼於，植物在不同時期及發育階段，啟動後如何成長。不過，使用各種化學物質及壓力來啟動種子，可能一直是最多被研究的。因為，這容易實行，且，倘若成功，農民就能行使。
Since that first experiment, my lab group has tried to figure out what mechanisms allow for these ethylene-exposed plants to grow larger and tolerate more stress. We’ve found a few potential explanations.
打從上述首度實驗以來，我的實驗室團隊一直試圖找出，什麼機制使此些暴露於乙烯的植物，得以成長較大且耐受更多壓力。我們已經找到幾種可能的解釋。
One is that ethylene priming increases photosynthesis, the process plants use to make sugars from light. Part of photosynthesis includes what is called carbon fixation, where plants take CO₂ from the atmosphere and use the CO₂ molecules as the building blocks to make the sugars.
一種是，乙烯啟動增強了光合作用，這是植物使用日光，來製造糖的過程。光合作用的一部分，包括被稱為碳固定。也就是，植物從大氣中吸收二氧化碳，並使用二氧化碳分子，作為製造糖的基礎材料。
短片網址：https://youtu.be/CL9A8YhwUps
During photosynthesis and carbon fixation, plants take in sunlight and convert it into the sugars that they use to grow.
在光合作用及碳固定期間，植物吸收日光並將其轉化為，用來成長的糖。
My lab group showed that there is a large increase in carbon fixation – which means the plants are taking in much more CO₂ from the atmosphere.
我的實驗室團隊證實了，在碳固定上有大量增加。這意味著，此些植物從大氣中，吸收了更多的二氧化碳。
Correlating with the increase in photosynthesis is a large increase in carbohydrate levels throughout the plant. This includes large increases in starch, which is the energy storage molecule in plants, and two sugars, sucrose and glucose, that provide quick energy for the plants.
與在光合作用上增加相關的是，在整個該植物碳水化合物水平上的大量增加。這包括，在澱粉(植物中的能量儲存分子)及為植物提供快速能量之蔗糖與葡萄糖，兩種糖類的大量增加。
More of these molecules in the plant has been linked to both increased growth and a better ability for plants to withstand stressful conditions.
於植物中，更多此些分子已經與，增強之成長及更佳耐得住壓力狀況的能力，被聯繫起來。
Our study shows that environmental conditions during germination can have profound and long-lasting effects on plants that could increase both their size and their stress tolerance at the same time. Understanding the mechanisms for this is more important than ever and could help improve crop production to feed the world’s population.
我們的研究證實，在發芽期間的環境狀況，會對植物具有，可能同時增加其大小及壓力耐受性之深遠且持久的影響。瞭解此機制比以往任何時候更為重要，且可能有幫助於提高農作物產量，來養活世界人口。
網址：https://scitechdaily.com/accidental-discovery-how-a-whiff-of-an-unusual-chemical-transforms-seedlings-into-super-plants/
翻譯：許東榮
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