2023年经济学人 基因编辑产生的"音乐植物"(2)（在线收听）

    Dr Fril started with barley, which has the longest spikes of the three, and therefore the most potential for fine tuning.

    弗里尔博士从大麦开始实验，大麦在三种植物中具有最长的穗，因此最有微调的潜力。

    (He also likes a glass of beer.)

    (他也喜欢喝大麦啤酒。)

    Besides tweaking the spike lengths, his team installed in their modified barley plants versions of the buzz-detecting and nectar-generating genes from evening primroses.

    除了调整穗状物的长度，他的团队还在改良后的大麦植株上装上了夜樱草的蜂群检测和产生花蜜等基因。

    Together with a few other genetic rearrangements, the consequent redirection of nutrients (for wind-pollinated crops like barley produce no nectar, meaning the nutrients involved are available for other purposes) means that GeneDupe's Fortissimo barley grows faster than the normal variety if it is played appropriate sounds.

    再加上其他一些基因重组，可以致使营养物质重新定向(对于像大麦这样的风媒传粉作物来说，它们不产生花蜜，也意味着相关的营养物质可以用于其他目的)这意味着，如果播放适当的声音，基因复制公司的强音大麦比正常品种生长得更快。

    The first generation of Fortissimo barley had not involved too much tinkering with the original genetics, so it was to the buzzing of bees that it responded.

    第一代强音大麦并没有修改太多原始基因，所以它只对蜜蜂的嗡嗡声做出了反应。

    However, barley's wind pollination means bees do not bother to visit it.

    然而，大麦的风媒传粉意味着蜜蜂不为它传粉。

    It was therefore necessary to play the sound of bees across the experimental field through a speaker stack, which resulted in numerous complaints from the firm's neighbours.

    因此，通过扬声器在整个试验场播放蜜蜂的声音是有必要的，这导致了该公司收到邻居的大量投诉。

    Applying another of modern biotechnology's techniques, protein-folding software, did away with that problem.

    应用另一种现代生物技术，也就是蛋白质折叠软件，可以解决这个问题。

    By predicting how protein chains will fold up, and thus what physical properties the resulting molecule will have, this software allows the design of novel genes that encode suites of proteins which respond appropriately but specifically to a wide range of sounds, from Beethoven to Beyonce.

    通过预测蛋白质链如何折叠，以及由此产生的分子将具有什么物理特性，该软件可以设计新的基因，编码蛋白质套件，这些蛋白质套件能够对从贝多芬到碧昂斯的各种声音做出恰当且具体的反应。

    That permits farmers to sow whichever variety of crop corresponds to their personal musical taste.

    这使得农民可以种植任何一种符合个人音乐品味的作物。

    The prize activity of GeneDupe's newly created botanoacoustics division, however, is its work on the flip side of the matter—sound generation by plants.

    然而，该公司新成立的植物声学部门的获奖活动则是在另一方面下功夫，也就是植物产生的声音。

    The aim of this is to get crops to egg each other on to grow faster, with each plant broadcasting sounds that will stimulate the growth of those adjacent.

    这样做的目的是让作物相互促进，加快生长速度，每一种植物播放出的声音都会刺激相邻植物的生长。

    That way there will be no need for loudspeakers, aggrieved neighbours or the inevitable arguments about which tracks crops like to listen to most.

    这样一来，就不需要扩音器，没有愤愤不平的邻居，也不需要一直争论哪些音乐是作物的最爱。

    This last point will in any case be settled in the next generation of Fortissimo crops, for GeneDupe's artificial-intelligence algorithms have developed versions of them that will both generate and respond to any pattern of sound programmed into their DNA, from Rabbie Burns's “Coming through the rye” to that glorious, tub-thumping, harvest-festival hymn, “The valleys stand so thick with corn/That even they are singing”.

    无论如何，最后一点将在下一代强音作物上得到解决，因为该公司的人工智能算法有这些作物的开发版本，它们可以产生并响应编入DNA的任何声音，从罗比·伯恩斯的《穿越麦田》到丰收节那首辉煌的、鼓声咚咚的赞美诗，“山谷里长满了玉米/它们甚至都在唱歌”。

    With this tweak, Dr Fril is pretty sure he will have a commercial success on his hands after its unveiling to an eager public on Saturday.

    有了这一调整，弗里尔博士确信，在周六向迫不及待的群众展示后，他将获得商业上的成功。