Can plants talk to each other? - Richard Karban

譯者: Pin-hsien Kuo 審譯者: Max Chern

Can plants talk to each other?

植物可否彼此交談？

It certainly doesn't seem that way.

應該不能吧！

Plants don't have complex sensory or nervous systems like animals do,

植物不像動物有複雜的感官或神經系統，

and they look pretty passive,

而且看似頗為被動，

basking in the sun,

曬著太陽，

and responding instinctively to inputs like light and water.

本能地對光線與水份的供應做出反應。

But odd as it sounds, plants can communicate with each other.

聽起來怪了些， 但植物真能彼此溝通，

Just like animals, plants produce all kinds of chemical signals

跟動物一樣， 植物可製造各種化學訊號

in response to their environments,

對其環境做出反應，

and they can share those signals with each other,

並且可彼此分享那些訊號，

especially when they're under attack.

尤可見於它們遭受攻擊時。

These signals take two routes:

訊號傳播的途徑有兩種：

through the air,

空氣、

and through the soil.

與土壤。

When plant leaves get damaged,

當植物的葉子遭破壞時——

whether by hungry insects or an invading lawn mower,

無論是飢餓的昆蟲 或侵襲性的割草機——

they release plumes of volatile chemicals.

它們會釋放出一縷縷 揮發性的化學物質。

They're what's responsible for the smell of freshly cut grass.

也就是剛割完草時那股味道的來由。

Certain kinds of plants, like sagebrush and lima beans,

某些種類的植物 —— 如山艾樹與棉豆，

are able to pick up on those airborne messages

可接收這些由空氣傳播的訊息

and adjust their own internal chemistry accordingly.

並因應調整自身內部的化學物質。

In one experiment, sagebrush leaves were deliberately damaged by insects

有一個實驗故意讓昆蟲 破壞山艾樹的葉子，

or scissor-wielding scientists.

或由科學家以剪刀破壞。

Throughout the summer,

那整個夏季，

other branches on the same sagebrush plant

同一株山艾樹的其他樹枝

got eaten less by insects wandering through,

比較少遭穿梭其間的昆蟲吃，

and so did branches on neighboring bushes,

附近灌木的樹枝也是，

suggesting that they had beefed up their anti-insect defenses.

由此顯示它們已強化了防蟲抵禦。

Even moving the air from above a clipped plant to another one

即便是把被剪植株上的空氣 移到其他植株上

made the second plant more insect-resistant.

也會讓下一個植株抗蟲力更強。

These airborne cues increase the likelihood of seedling survival,

這些空氣傳播的信號 增加了幼苗存活的可能性，

and made adult plants produce more new branches and flowers.

且使成株生出更多新枝與花朵。

But why would a plant warn its neighbors of danger,

但植株為何要警告鄰近植物，

especially if they're competing for resources?

特別在它們彼此競爭資源的時候呢？

Well, it might be an accidental consequence of a self-defense mechanism.

嗯！可能是它們自衛機制 附帶產生的結果。

Plants can't move information through their bodies as easily as we can,

植物沒辦法跟我們一樣 輕易地在體內傳送資訊，

especially if water is scarce.

尤其在缺水時。

So plants may rely on those airborne chemicals

所以植物可能需依賴 空氣傳播的化學物質

to get messages from one part of a plant to another.

將訊息從植物的某一部分 傳到其他部份。

Nearby plants can eavesdrop on those signals,

附近的植物可竊取這些訊號，

like overhearing your neighbor sneeze and stocking up on cold medicine.

就像你無意聽見鄰居打噴嚏後， 就先囤積感冒藥一樣。

Different plants convey those warnings using different chemical languages.

不同的植物用不同的化學語言 來傳達警告。

Individual sagebrush plants in the same meadow

同個草原的個別山艾樹

release slightly different sets of alarm chemicals.

會釋放稍微不同的警示化學物。

The makeup of that cocktail influences the effectiveness of communication.

這混合物的組成影響了 交流的效力。

The more similar two plants' chemical fingerprints are,

兩株植物的化學標記越相似，

the more fluently they can communicate.

交流就越順暢無礙。

A plant will be most sensitive to the cues emitted by its own leaves.

植株對自身葉子所散發的信號最敏感。

But because these chemicals seem to be inherited,

但因為這些化學物質 似乎是經遺傳而得的——

like human blood types,

就像人類的血型，

sagebrush plants communicate more effectively

山艾樹在溝通上 跟親戚比陌生者更有效率。

with relatives than with strangers.

But sometimes, even other species can benefit.

但有時，其他的物種也能獲益。

Tomato and tobacco plants can both decipher sagebrush warning signals.

蕃茄與菸草植株 皆可解讀山艾樹的警告訊號。

Plants don't have to rely solely on those airborne broadcasts.

植物不單只依賴空氣來傳播訊息，

Signals can travel below the soil surface, too.

訊息也可在地下傳播。

Most plants have a symbiotic relationship with fungi,

大多數植物都與真菌類有共生關係，

which colonize the plants' roots and help them absorb water and nutrients.

真菌類在植物的根部繁殖， 並幫助植物吸收水分與養分。

These fungal filaments form extensive networks

這些真菌絲形成多個廣闊的網路

that can connect separate plants,

連結分開的植物，

creating an underground super highway for chemical messages.

創造出傳導化學物訊息的 地下超級高速公路。

When a tomato plant responds to blight

當蕃茄植株得枯萎病時，

by acitvating disease-fighting genes and enzymes,

會活化對抗疾病的基因與酵素，

signaling molecules produced by its immune system

其免疫系統發出信號的分子

can travel to a healthy plant

會傳播給健康的植株

and prompt it to turn on its immune system, too.

促使它也啟動免疫系統。

These advance warnings increase the plants chance of survival.

這種提前的警訊 提高了植株的存活機率。

Bean plants also eavesdrop on each other's health

豆類植物也會藉由這些真菌管道 窺視彼此的健康情況。

through these fungal conduits.

An aphid investation in one plant

一株植物被蚜蟲侵害時，

triggers its neighbor to ramp up production of compounds that repel aphids

會刺激其鄰近植株 提高抵制蚜蟲的複合物之產量

and attract aphid-eating wasps.

並吸引吃蚜蟲的黃蜂。

If you think of communication as an exchange of information,

若你認為溝通是一種交換訊息，

then plants seem to be active communicators.

那麼植物似乎是活躍的溝通者。

They're sending, receiving, and responding to signals

他們一聲不響地傳送、接收 並回應訊號，

without making a sound,

and without brains, noses, dictionaries, or the Internet.

也不需使用頭腦、鼻子、字典或網際網路。

And if we can learn to speak to them on their terms,

我們如果能學會 用它們的方式與它們溝通，

we may gain a powerful new tool to protect crops and other valuable species.

也許就能取得強而有力的新方法， 來保護農作物以及一些珍貴的物種。

It all makes you wonder what else are we missing?

這不禁讓人好奇地想 我們到底還有什麼未注意到？

翻譯：Pin-hsien Kuo