How fungi recognize (and infect) plants | Mennat El Ghalid

翻译人员: Lipeng Chen 校对人员: Zihao Wang

"Will the blight end the chestnut?

“枯萎病会终结栗树吗？

The farmers rather guess not.

栗农希望不会。

It keeps smouldering at the roots

病菌在树根蔓延，

And sending up new shoots

长出新丝，

Till another parasite

直到另一种寄生物，

Shall come to end the blight."

来终结枯萎病。”

At the beginning of the 20th century,

在二十世纪早期，

the eastern American chestnut population, counting nearly four billion trees,

美国东部将近四十亿棵的栗树，

was completely decimated by a fungal infection.

遭到一种真菌的感染， 而全部死亡了。

Fungi are the most destructive pathogens of plants,

真菌对植物来说， 包括一些具有重要经济意义的作物，

including crops of major economic importance.

是最具毁灭性的病原体。

Can you imagine that today,

你能想象，

在今天，据估计，世界范围内 作物因为真菌的感染产生的损失

crop losses associated with fungal infection

are estimated at billions of dollars per year, worldwide?

每年有数十亿美元吗？

That represents enough food calories to feed half a billion people.

换算成食物热量， 足够养活五亿人口。

And this leads to severe repercussions,

而这会产生严重的后果，

including episodes of famine in developing countries,

包括在发展中国家引发饥荒，

large reduction of income for farmers and distributors,

农民和经销商巨大的经济损失，

high prices for consumers

消费者面临的高价，

and risk of exposure to mycotoxin, poison produced by fungi.

以及暴露在由真菌产生的 毒枝菌素中的风险。

The problems that we face

我们面临的问题是，

is that the current method used to prevent and treat

现今用来预防和治疗

those dreadful diseases,

这些可怕疾病的方法，

such as genetic control, exploiting natural sources of resistance,

比如基因控制， 发掘真菌抗性的天然来源，

crop rotation or seed treatment, among others,

轮种，或是种子处理等等，

are still limited or ephemeral.

作用仍然有限，或是暂时的。

They have to be constantly renewed.

它们必须不断被更新。

Therefore, we urgently need to develop more efficient strategies

因此，我们急需开发 更有效的方法，

and for this, research is required to identify biological mechanisms

为此，需要有相关研究来识别

that can be targeted by novel antifungal treatments.

可被新型抗菌疗法 识别的生物机制。

One feature of fungi is that they cannot move

真菌的一大特征是它们不能移动，

and only grow by extension to form a sophisticated network,

而且只能通过延展 形成复杂的网络来生长，

the mycelium.

即菌丝体。

In 1884, Anton de Bary, the father of plant pathology,

1884年，Anton de Bary， 植物病理学之父，

was the first to presume that fungi are guided by signals

第一次提出，真菌是由 宿主植物发出的信号，

sent out from the host plant,

来引导生长的假设。

meaning a plant upon which it can lodge and subsist,

即真菌可以寄生在植物体上。

so signals act as a lighthouse

这些信号对真菌来说就如灯塔，

for fungi to locate, grow toward, reach

帮助它们定位，蔓延，成长，

and finally invade and colonize a plant.

最终入侵并寄生于这株植物。

He knew that the identification of such signals

他知道对这类信号的识别

would unlock a great knowledge that then serves to elaborate strategy

可以增加我们的知识储备 并形成对策，

to block the interaction between the fungus and the plant.

来阻断真菌和植物之间的作用。

However, the lack of an appropriate method at that moment

但是，当时并没有合适的方法，

prevented him from identifying this mechanism at the molecular level.

让他能够从分子层面 定义这一机制。

Using purification and mutational genomic approaches,

利用提纯和基因突变方法，

as well as a technique

还有另一种

可以测度菌丝生长指向的技术，

allowing the measurement of directed hyphal growth,

today I'm glad to tell you that after 130 years,

130年后的今天， 我能很高兴的告诉你们，

my former team and I could finally identify such plant signals

我和我之前的团队 终于识别了这种植物信号。

by studying the interaction between a pathogenic fungus

我们是通过研究一种叫

called Fusarium oxysporum

尖孢镰刀菌的病原真菌

and one of its host plants, the tomato plant.

和它的宿主之一，番茄，来识别的。

As well, we could characterize

同时，我们还识别了

the fungal receptor receiving those signals

真菌接收这些信号的接收器，

以及发生在真菌体内，

and part of the underlying reaction occurring within the fungus

and leading to its direct growth toward the plant.

指引它向植物生长的潜在反应。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）

理解这一分子过程，

The understanding of such molecular processes

offers a panel of potential molecules

提供了众多可以用来

that can be used to create novel antifungal treatments.

进行创新抗菌治疗的潜在分子种类。

And those treatments would disrupt

这些疗法会扰乱

the interaction between the fungus and the plant

真菌和植物之间的相互作用，

either by blocking the plant signal

要么通过阻断植物信号实现，

or the fungal reception system which receives those signals.

要么通过阻断真菌的 信号接收系统实现。

Fungal infections have devastated agriculture crops.

真菌感染已经摧毁过大量农作物。

Moreover, we are now in an era

此外，我们所处的，

where the demand of crop production is increasing significantly.

是一个对粮食需求 显著上涨的时代。

And this is due to population growth, economic development,

这是由于人口增长，经济发展，

climate change and demand for bio fuels.

气候变化以及 对生物燃料的需求引起的。

Our understanding of the molecular mechanism

我们对真菌和宿主植物之间作用的

of interaction between a fungus and its host plant,

分子机制的了解，

such as the tomato plant,

譬如番茄这一宿主，

potentially represents a major step towards developing more efficient strategy

可能代表着迈向更有效对抗

to combat plant fungal diseases

植物真菌病毒的一大步，

and therefore solving of problems that affect people's lives,

进而可以解决影响人们生活，

food security and economic growth.

食品安全和经济增长的问题。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）