Can plants talk to each other? - Richard Karban

408,434 views ・ 2016-05-02

TED-Ed


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譯者: Pin-hsien Kuo 審譯者: Max Chern
00:08
Can plants talk to each other?
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植物可否彼此交談?
00:10
It certainly doesn't seem that way.
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應該不能吧!
00:12
Plants don't have complex sensory or nervous systems like animals do,
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植物不像動物有複雜的感官或神經系統,
00:16
and they look pretty passive,
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而且看似頗為被動,
00:18
basking in the sun,
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曬著太陽,
00:19
and responding instinctively to inputs like light and water.
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本能地對光線與水份的供應做出反應。
00:23
But odd as it sounds, plants can communicate with each other.
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聽起來怪了些, 但植物真能彼此溝通,
00:26
Just like animals, plants produce all kinds of chemical signals
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跟動物一樣, 植物可製造各種化學訊號
00:30
in response to their environments,
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對其環境做出反應,
00:32
and they can share those signals with each other,
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並且可彼此分享那些訊號,
00:35
especially when they're under attack.
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尤可見於它們遭受攻擊時。
00:38
These signals take two routes:
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訊號傳播的途徑有兩種:
00:39
through the air,
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空氣、
00:40
and through the soil.
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與土壤。
00:42
When plant leaves get damaged,
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當植物的葉子遭破壞時——
00:43
whether by hungry insects or an invading lawn mower,
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無論是飢餓的昆蟲 或侵襲性的割草機——
00:47
they release plumes of volatile chemicals.
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它們會釋放出一縷縷 揮發性的化學物質。
00:50
They're what's responsible for the smell of freshly cut grass.
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也就是剛割完草時那股味道的來由。
00:54
Certain kinds of plants, like sagebrush and lima beans,
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某些種類的植物 —— 如山艾樹與棉豆,
00:57
are able to pick up on those airborne messages
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可接收這些由空氣傳播的訊息
01:00
and adjust their own internal chemistry accordingly.
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並因應調整自身內部的化學物質。
01:03
In one experiment, sagebrush leaves were deliberately damaged by insects
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有一個實驗故意讓昆蟲 破壞山艾樹的葉子,
01:08
or scissor-wielding scientists.
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或由科學家以剪刀破壞。
01:11
Throughout the summer,
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那整個夏季,
01:12
other branches on the same sagebrush plant
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同一株山艾樹的其他樹枝
01:14
got eaten less by insects wandering through,
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比較少遭穿梭其間的昆蟲吃,
01:17
and so did branches on neighboring bushes,
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附近灌木的樹枝也是,
01:19
suggesting that they had beefed up their anti-insect defenses.
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由此顯示它們已強化了防蟲抵禦。
01:24
Even moving the air from above a clipped plant to another one
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即便是把被剪植株上的空氣 移到其他植株上
01:28
made the second plant more insect-resistant.
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也會讓下一個植株抗蟲力更強。
01:32
These airborne cues increase the likelihood of seedling survival,
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這些空氣傳播的信號 增加了幼苗存活的可能性,
01:37
and made adult plants produce more new branches and flowers.
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且使成株生出更多新枝與花朵。
01:41
But why would a plant warn its neighbors of danger,
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但植株為何要警告鄰近植物,
01:44
especially if they're competing for resources?
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特別在它們彼此競爭資源的時候呢?
01:47
Well, it might be an accidental consequence of a self-defense mechanism.
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嗯!可能是它們自衛機制 附帶產生的結果。
01:52
Plants can't move information through their bodies as easily as we can,
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植物沒辦法跟我們一樣 輕易地在體內傳送資訊,
01:56
especially if water is scarce.
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尤其在缺水時。
01:58
So plants may rely on those airborne chemicals
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所以植物可能需依賴 空氣傳播的化學物質
02:01
to get messages from one part of a plant to another.
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將訊息從植物的某一部分 傳到其他部份。
02:05
Nearby plants can eavesdrop on those signals,
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附近的植物可竊取這些訊號,
02:08
like overhearing your neighbor sneeze and stocking up on cold medicine.
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就像你無意聽見鄰居打噴嚏後, 就先囤積感冒藥一樣。
02:13
Different plants convey those warnings using different chemical languages.
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不同的植物用不同的化學語言 來傳達警告。
02:16
Individual sagebrush plants in the same meadow
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同個草原的個別山艾樹
02:19
release slightly different sets of alarm chemicals.
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會釋放稍微不同的警示化學物。
02:22
The makeup of that cocktail influences the effectiveness of communication.
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這混合物的組成影響了 交流的效力。
02:27
The more similar two plants' chemical fingerprints are,
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兩株植物的化學標記越相似,
02:31
the more fluently they can communicate.
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交流就越順暢無礙。
02:33
A plant will be most sensitive to the cues emitted by its own leaves.
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植株對自身葉子所散發的信號最敏感。
02:37
But because these chemicals seem to be inherited,
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但因為這些化學物質 似乎是經遺傳而得的——
02:40
like human blood types,
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就像人類的血型,
02:42
sagebrush plants communicate more effectively
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山艾樹在溝通上 跟親戚比陌生者更有效率。
02:45
with relatives than with strangers.
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02:48
But sometimes, even other species can benefit.
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但有時,其他的物種也能獲益。
02:50
Tomato and tobacco plants can both decipher sagebrush warning signals.
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蕃茄與菸草植株 皆可解讀山艾樹的警告訊號。
02:56
Plants don't have to rely solely on those airborne broadcasts.
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植物不單只依賴空氣來傳播訊息,
03:00
Signals can travel below the soil surface, too.
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訊息也可在地下傳播。
03:03
Most plants have a symbiotic relationship with fungi,
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大多數植物都與真菌類有共生關係,
03:06
which colonize the plants' roots and help them absorb water and nutrients.
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真菌類在植物的根部繁殖, 並幫助植物吸收水分與養分。
03:11
These fungal filaments form extensive networks
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這些真菌絲形成多個廣闊的網路
03:14
that can connect separate plants,
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連結分開的植物,
03:17
creating an underground super highway for chemical messages.
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創造出傳導化學物訊息的 地下超級高速公路。
03:21
When a tomato plant responds to blight
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當蕃茄植株得枯萎病時,
03:23
by acitvating disease-fighting genes and enzymes,
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會活化對抗疾病的基因與酵素,
03:26
signaling molecules produced by its immune system
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其免疫系統發出信號的分子
03:29
can travel to a healthy plant
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會傳播給健康的植株
03:31
and prompt it to turn on its immune system, too.
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促使它也啟動免疫系統。
03:35
These advance warnings increase the plants chance of survival.
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這種提前的警訊 提高了植株的存活機率。
03:39
Bean plants also eavesdrop on each other's health
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豆類植物也會藉由這些真菌管道 窺視彼此的健康情況。
03:42
through these fungal conduits.
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03:45
An aphid investation in one plant
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一株植物被蚜蟲侵害時,
03:47
triggers its neighbor to ramp up production of compounds that repel aphids
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會刺激其鄰近植株 提高抵制蚜蟲的複合物之產量
03:52
and attract aphid-eating wasps.
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並吸引吃蚜蟲的黃蜂。
03:56
If you think of communication as an exchange of information,
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若你認為溝通是一種交換訊息,
03:59
then plants seem to be active communicators.
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那麼植物似乎是活躍的溝通者。
04:02
They're sending, receiving, and responding to signals
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他們一聲不響地傳送、接收 並回應訊號,
04:05
without making a sound,
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04:06
and without brains, noses, dictionaries, or the Internet.
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也不需使用頭腦、鼻子、字典或網際網路。
04:11
And if we can learn to speak to them on their terms,
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我們如果能學會 用它們的方式與它們溝通,
04:13
we may gain a powerful new tool to protect crops and other valuable species.
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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。
04:19
It all makes you wonder what else are we missing?
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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
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