A study in the journal Nature reports the discovery of rapid-growth genes in rice varieties that can withstand flooding by quickly rising above the new water line. Engineering other strains to include the "snorkel" genes could help rice yields.

    发表在《自然》（Nature）杂志上的一项研究报导了在水稻品种发现的快速生长基因，这种基因使水稻快速生长，从而抵抗水涝。通过基因工程引入这种"呼吸管"基因能提高水稻的产量。

    Rice Really Rises to the Occasion

    You've probably seen pictures of farmers wading ankle deep through waterlogged rice paddies. Rice, it seems, is a crop that likes it wet. But if the water gets too deep, the plants can actually drown. To help rescue sinking rice, Japanese scientists have discovered a pair of genes that allow inundated plants to keep their heads above water.

    Most of the high-yield rice varieties grown today can't cope with being completely submerged. But a few strains of rice are actually fine with a good flood. As the water levels rise, so do they: their stems can shoot up 10 inches in a single day. But those fast-growing strains produce five times less rice than the higher-yield varieties.

    To get the best of both worlds, the scientists studied some submersible rice and found two genes that are not present in shallow-water varieties. These genes, dubbed Snorkel 1 and 2, switch on a program that triggers rapid stem growth, results published in the August 20th issue of Nature.

    Using genetic engineering to toss those Snorkel genes into rice that can't hold its breath could prove a real lifesaver. Not just to the plants, but to the people who rely on them for food.

    水稻真地能应对水涝

    你可能看到过这样的画面，农民在充满水的稻田里来回走动劳作。水稻似乎是一种喜水的农作物。但是如果水太深的话，水稻就会被淹死。为了帮助"解救"被淹的水稻，日本科学家发现了一对能让水稻不被淹的基因。

    目前种植的大多数高产的水稻品种不能在完全被淹的情况下存活。但是有少量的水稻品种实际上不怕水涝。当水面上涨的时候，水稻也往上长：它们的茎秆能在一天之中长10英寸。但是这些茎秆快速生长的水稻品种的产量只有那些高产品种的五分之一。

    为了兼取上述两种优点，科学家们研究了一些抗水涝水稻，并发现了两种在浅水水稻品种中没有的基因。这些基因被戏称为"呼吸管1"和"呼吸管2",这两种基因能促使水稻的茎秆快速成长，该研究结果发表在8月20日的《自然》（Nature）杂志上。

    利用基因工程把这些"呼吸管"基因引入到那些不能抵抗水涝的水稻中能真正起到"救生"的作用。这不但能"救活"水稻，也能解救那些依靠水稻为食物的人们。

    Vocabulary:

    Variety:（植物、语言等的）变种，变体

    Withstand:抵抗

    Strain: （植物的）品种；（疾病的）类型

    Snorkel: （徒手潜水用的）呼吸管

    Waterlogged: 水淹的

    Inundate:泛滥；淹没

    Submerge:淹没

    Submersible:能在水下使用的

    Dub:给…起绰号