圖1. 美國冷泉港實驗室(CSHL：Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)教授兼霍華德休斯醫學研究所(HHMI：Howard Hughes Medical Institute)調查研究員，Rob Martienssen(插圖)協助繪製了，擬南芥、水稻及玉米的第一個基因體序列圖。不過，此些突破不僅與植物有關。 它們改變了，科學家們思考地球上所有生命的方式。
CSHL Professor & HHMI Investigator Rob Martienssen (inset) helped map the first genomes of Arabidopsis thaliana, rice, and corn. But these breakthroughs aren’t just about plants. They’ve changed the way scientists think about all life on Earth.
Farmers have been playing with plant genomics since before the world knew what genes were. Does one strawberry plant produce sweeter fruits? Encourage its growth over less tasty crops. Voilà! Your strawberry crop is now yummier than ever.
在世界知道基因是什麼之前，農民們就一直在與植物基因體學競賽。一株草莓結出更甜的果實嗎？在較不美味的作物上，促進它生長。瞧！您的草莓作物，現在比以往任何時候更美味。
Since the turn of the 21st century, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) breakthroughs have helped revolutionize the world of plant genomics. As a result, society now has a much better understanding of how plants grow and evolve.
打從進入21世紀以來，美國冷泉港實驗室(CSHL：Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)的諸多突破已經協助，使植物基因體學的世界起了徹底變革。因此，有關植物如何生長及演化，目前社會有了更深入的瞭解。
In 2000, CSHL Professors Rob Martienssen and W. Richard McCombie were part of an international team that mapped the genome of the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Their work helped yield the first plant genome sequence in history.
於2000年，CSHL教授Rob Martienssen及W. Richard McCombie是，一支繪製了開花植物，擬南芥基因體序列圖的國際團隊成員。他們的研究協助產生了，於歷史上的第一個植物基因體序列。
“It was controversial because it was so expensive, and not everyone was convinced it would move science forward,” says Martienssen. However, in time, the team completed a project that turned out to be “as important as mapping the human genome.”
Martienssen宣稱：「這是有爭議的，因為它太昂貴了，而且並非每個人皆相信，它會向前推動科學。」不過，最終，該團隊完成了一項，證明是“與繪製人類基因體序列圖一樣重要”的計劃。
Understanding which genes control which aspects of plant life has unplugged a fountain of information. Martienssen sees in this new knowledge the potential to meet the demands of a changing world.
瞭解哪些基因控制植物生命的哪些層面，已經除去了資訊來源的障礙。在此新知識中，Martienssen看到了，滿足變化中之世界需求的潛力。
“As more plant genomes were sequenced, they helped us come to grips with genes that control plant traits,” he says. “These genes are important for everything from climate resilience to disease resistance to crop yield.”
他宣稱：「隨著更多的植物基因體被排序，它們協助了我們，處理控制植物特性的基因。就從氣候適應力、抗病性到作物產量的每件事而言，此些基因皆很重要。」
Martienssen takes us on a tour of CSHL’s corn fields and discusses his work’s possible applications in mitigating climate change.
Martienssen帶我們參觀了CSHL的玉米田，並討論了其研究，在緩解氣候變遷上的諸多可能應用。
For example, sequencing the oil palm genome in 2013 led Martienssen’s team to discover the Shell gene that controls oil yield. That finding could have big implications for where and how we get our energy. For example, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board is now applying the discovery toward biofuel production and rainforest preservation efforts. They’re working with Orion Genomics, a company Martienssen and McCombie co-founded.
譬如，於2013年，排序油棕櫚基因體，引領Martienssen的團隊，發現了控制油產量的Shell基因。對我們從何處及如何獲得能量而言，那發現可能具有諸多大意涵。譬如，馬來西亞棕櫚油局目前正將此發現，應用於產生生物燃料及保護雨林的嘗試上。他們正與Martienssen及McCombie共同創立的Orion Genomics公司進行合作。
But that’s not all. The first plant genome sequence also has applications beyond plant breeding and genomics. It has helped shed new light on evolution and human health. Perhaps most importantly, it has opened the door to discoveries that explain how genes are regulated.
不過，那並非全部。首先，植物基因體序列也具有，植物育種及基因體學以外的諸多應用。這已經協助新闡明了演化及人類健康。或許最重要的是，它已經開啟了，發現解釋基因如何被調節的途徑。
“One thing the plant genome gave us was the sequence of transposable elements, which is very important for epigenetics,” Martienssen says. Epigenetics describes how external factors, like behaviors and environment, affect genes.
Martienssen宣稱：「植物基因體賦予我們的一件事，是描述行為及環境等外部因素，如何影響基因之漸成說學(表觀遺傳學)，非常重要的轉座子序列。」
Transposable elements are ‘jumping genes’ first discovered by the late CSHL plant biologist Barbara McClintock. Indeed, the Nobel laureate served as a mentor to a young Martienssen in his early days at CSHL. Her lessons proved pivotal in guiding his own breakthroughs.
轉座子是已故CSHL植物生物學家，Barbara McClintock最早發現的‘跳躍基因’。 實際上，這位諾貝爾獎得主，擔任過年輕Martienssen早期在CSHL時的指導者。她的諸多指導證實了，在引領Martienssen自身之突破上的重要性。
“We could really dive into what happened to the genome under epigenetics and control genes by transposable elements,” Martienssen says. It might sound technical, but the potential for health and medicine is nothing short of revolutionary.
It has implications for “cancer, neurobiology, everything,” he says.
Martienssen宣稱：「其實，我們能埋首研究，在漸成說學下，基因體發生了什麼，並藉由轉座子控制基因。」這聽起來或許是技術性的，不過對健康及醫學的潛力，簡直是革命性的。他表示，對“癌症、神經生物學、一切事情”而言，這具有諸多的意涵。
網址：https://www.cshl.edu/from-plant-genomics-to-a-bioscience-revolution/?utm_campaign=research_calloutBox
翻譯：許東榮
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