美国国家公共电台 NPR--Seeds developed over thousands of years may help farmers adapt to climate change

Seeds developed over thousands of years may help farmers adapt to climate change

Transcript¹

A seed bank in rural Lebanon is proving important for food production in regions all over the world adapting to warming temperatures.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Researchers have spent years in Lebanon, in Syria collecting seeds from crops and wild plants from the Middle East and other parts of the world to preserve in a seed vault². Some of these plants were developed thousands of years ago during the early days of agriculture, and now they're helping³ farmers all over the world grow food in a changing climate. NPR's Ruth Sherlock traveled to Lebanon's agricultural region to see how it all works.

RUTH SHERLOCK, BYLINE⁴: I meet Mariana Yazbek at a low building with orange roof tiles, surrounded by fields of grains in Lebanon's remote Bekaa Valley.

MARIANA YAZBEK: Let me show you the gene⁵ bank. Not everyone gets to go into the gene bank.

SHERLOCK: Ooh. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yes.

SHERLOCK: She shows me how her team protects the samples they keep in the seed bank.

YAZBEK: They are stored at specific conditions of temperature and relative humidity, and we conserve⁶ them here...

SHERLOCK: Oh, wow.

YAZBEK: ...Like this. You have the seeds here.

SHERLOCK: The cold store is like a large walk-in fridge. It's minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit⁷. And inside there are rows and rows of heavy sliding metal racks filled with seeds in sealed foil bags.

What variety of seeds is this?

YAZBEK: This is a legume. It's fava bean.

SHERLOCK: This gene bank stores up to 120,000 varieties of legumes, barley⁸, wheat and other seeds that have been gathered from the mountains and plains of Lebanon, Syria, Iran and even further afield, in West Asia, North Africa and other parts of the world.

Do you have a sense of how many years of work is in this?

YAZBEK: Oh. So literally⁹, it's, like, a little bit more than 40 years of collecting seeds, but it definitely goes back to thousands of years if we're talking about local varieties because we're conserving¹⁰ here varieties that have been developed and maintained by farmers, which is since the beginning of agriculture 10- to 12,000 years ago.

SHERLOCK: This region is part of the Fertile Crescent where agriculture began. Some wild species have survived here millions of years, which means their seeds are tough and nutrient¹¹ rich and worth saving for the genes¹² that can be pulled from them. This gene bank belongs to the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, or ICARDA. The organization funded by governments and international groups began in Lebanon and now works in over a dozen countries. But Lebanon remains¹³ an important hub.

YAZBEK: It's one of the biggest gene banks in the world, with a very unique collection.

SHERLOCK: Yazbek's team's focus is conserving seeds for wild varieties of crops and plants, many of which are essential to the human diet. She calls it an insurance policy for humanity. These centers save seeds in case of disasters like nuclear war or other catastrophic events that wipe out the wild species of the plants. But keeping these seeds safe has not always been easy. In the Lebanese civil war in the 1980s, the organization opened offices in Syria, and then in 2012, after the start of Syria's civil war, they had to move back across the border to Lebanon. Some scientists took huge personal risks to salvage¹⁴ decades of work.

RAAFAT AZZO: Usually in the war, you have to be very careful in moving here and there.

SHERLOCK: Raafat Azzo is a barley breeder with ICARDA. In the chaos¹⁵ of the Syrian conflict, some of ICARDA's equipment was stolen, and researchers were kidnapped and even shot at. Still, Azzo tells me how he refused to leave Syria without his varieties of barley.

AZZO: We shifted hundreds of boxes.

SHERLOCK: Hundreds?

AZZO: Yeah, hundreds - not 100 - hundreds of boxes to Lebanon.

SHERLOCK: And you did it crossing front lines. It wasn't a simple journey, I imagine.

AZZO: Yes. Yes. It wasn't that simple. Yeah, yeah.

SHERLOCK: ICARDA's work has already helped countries with similarly hot, dry climates. They developed a variety of chickpea that allowed farmers to plant year-round in Asia. Other seeds have helped in hot climates in Africa. Now though, ICARDA's work is also of interest to wealthier nations that are feeling the effects of climate change.

FOUAD MAALOUF: So we have now with our collaboration¹⁷ with France and Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Switzerland, U.K., Italy.

SHERLOCK: Fouad Maalouf, a legume breeder, tells me he's working with more than 30 countries in Europe now. As temperatures rise, these countries have come to a cadre for seeds that can adapt and even counter global warming, like lentils and fava beans.

MAALOUF: These crops also play an important role in having more sustainable climate change because it control carbon dioxide emissions¹⁸.

SHERLOCK: It captures?

MAALOUF: It captures, yes.

SHERLOCK: Maalouf says these crops capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release nitrogen into the soil. That means the farmers have to use less chemical fertilizer. And he says legumes take very little water to grow.

MAALOUF: So you are saving the environment. And second way, you save water.

SHERLOCK: The impact of ICARDA's work is even reaching the United States.

DIL THAVARAJAH: I am Dil Thavarajah, and I am a professor here at the Clemson University, South Carolina.

SHERLOCK: Dil Thavarajah has worked with ICARDA for over a decade, exploring ways to improve the nutritional¹⁹ content of legumes, lentils, peas, chickpeas. One discovery could even help tackle obesity²⁰. She says the genes from these seeds are helping U.S. agriculture adapt to climate change.

THAVARAJAH: So when you grow in a stressful environment like high temperature or low rainfall or in a winter conditions, these raffinose oligosaccharides and the sugar alcohols act as a humectant, and they save the plant from freezing or save the plant from drying out.

SHERLOCK: The work has allowed new crops to be introduced around the U.S. that are more suited to extreme weather.

THAVARAJAH: So now Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, all these places - they are introducing legumes into their crop rotation²¹.

SHERLOCK: One seed saved by ICARDA has been used to grow wheat in the U.S. that is resistant²² to the Hessian fly, a pest that's spreading in warmer temperatures. With millions of years of evolution captured in the DNA¹⁶ of the seeds stored in the vaults²³ in Lebanon, these discoveries that help us adapt to climate change may just be the beginning.

Ruth Sherlock, NPR News, Beirut.

(SOUNDBITE OF PAJARO'S "MAPLE SYRUP")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

6 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

7 Fahrenheit   

n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)

参考例句：

• He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
• The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

8 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

9 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

10 conserving   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
• Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网

11 nutrient   

adj.营养的，滋养的；n.营养物，营养品

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。

12 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

15 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

16 DNA   

(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。

17 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

18 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

19 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

20 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

21 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

22 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

23 vaults   

n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴

参考例句：

• It was deposited in the vaults of a bank. 它存在一家银行的保险库里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》