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Perfume gene to restore roses' scent
香水基因重新找回玫瑰香味
Professor Givik Clark refers to this tiny rose as his proof of concept. In just a couple of weeks, he will know if 3 long years of research have paid off. The flower has been genetically egineered to give it back something it lost for generations of breeding.
Givik Clark教授稱這款微小的玫瑰是他的理念的證明。幾周之后，他就會知道長達三年的研究是否有所回報。這種花經過基因改造，試圖找回經過多代育種之后失去的芳香。
Back in the old days, roses all have fragrance, but since 1950s, about 80% or 90% of flowers that are on the market like roses don't have any fragrances.
過去，玫瑰都有著怡人的芬芳，但是自上世紀50年代以來，市場上大約80%或90%的玫瑰花不再有任何香味。
3 years ago, Clark decided to put the perfume back into the rose. The fragrance in all flowers including roses comes from the volatile chemicals they produce. Each of which has a genetical marker. But Clark had a problem. The rose is one of the most genetically complex flowers in the world. And its genome has not yet been mapped, so it couldn't begin to look for the gene that produces fragrance. Then, came his heroic moment.
三年前，Clark決定讓玫瑰再次散發出芳香。包括玫瑰花在內的所有花的香味都來自它們產生的揮發性化學物質，每一種化學物質都有自己的基因標記。但是Clark面臨一個問題。玫瑰是世界上基因最復雜的花之一。而且科學家還沒有繪制出它的基因圖譜，所以不能尋找讓玫瑰產生香味的基因。然后，屬于他的歷史性時刻就來臨了。
The far less complicated petunia has been genetically mapped, and it contains a gene that produces rose oil, along with other genes such as wintergreen and clove oil. In combination, they produced the fragrance of petunia. But for Clark, only the rose oil gene matter. Clark and his team isolated the rose oil gene and cloned it. Then they used agro-bacterium, a bacterium that can transfer DNA between plants to add the cloned gene to genetically structure of a rose.
基因簡單得多的矮牽牛花的基因圖譜已經繪制出來，其中含有能夠產生玫瑰油的基因，以及其他基因，比如鹿蹄草和丁香油。綜合起來，它們可以產生矮牽牛花的香味。但是對Clark來說，重要的只有玫瑰油。Clark和他的研究小組將玫瑰油基因分離出來進行克隆。然后他們使用土壤桿菌，一種可以轉換植物之間DNA的細菌將這種克隆的基因加入玫瑰的基因結構中。
The idea is that if we can do it, and jump species barriers, then we should be able to do it to any plants that we want to make fragrance. And now we can start talking about making design for flowers. Things that smell like mints, things that smell like, maybe more like root beer, things that are sticky,sweet. And so, we just have to now go to clone those genes out of different plants for doing what we want to do.
他們的理念是，如果我們能做到這一點，我們就可以為任何一種植物添加香味。現在，我們可以為鮮花進行設計。比如聞上去像薄荷的鮮花，聞上去像麥根汽水的鮮花，聞上去甜甜的東西。所以，現在只要克隆出不同植物的基因就行了。
They say volatile chemicals that produce fragrance, produce taste as well. Clark says that if we can enhance the smell of roses, we should be able to enhance or change the taste of any food or vegetable.
他們說，能產生香味的揮發性化學物質也能產生味道。Clark說，如果我們能增強玫瑰的香味，我們也能增強或改變任何食物或蔬菜的味道。
We look at it and say the opportunity is limitless, you can talk about a better taste in strawberry, you can talk about a better taste in tomato. And if you make a better tasting for some vegetables, then people simply are gonna eat more of them.
我們可以說，機會是無限的，你以后可以吃到更有味道的草莓，可以吃到更好吃的西紅柿。如果你能讓蔬菜更好吃，人們會愿意吃更多蔬菜。
For now, Clarks says after all the effort, he will be delighted if his genetically egineered flower turns out his plan. He says only then would he be able to sit back,relax and smell the roses.
現在，Clarks表示，經過所有努力之后，如果基因改造的鮮花能夠實現他的計劃，他會非常高興。他表示，只有那時候他才能安靜地坐下來，放松地享受玫瑰的香味。
Ben Gruber, Reuters.
Ben Gruber，路透社。
