新奇事件簿 香蕉產(chǎn)業(yè)遭遇滅頂之災(zāi)

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There is bad news for banana lovers. The most common banana in the world is in danger of becoming extinct. It is called the Cavendish banana and people eat it all over the world. A fungus called Tropical Race 4 (TP4) is killing millions of banana plants. The fungus blocks small tubes that absorb water inside the plant. This means the plant cannot get the water it needs and so it dies. Scientists first discovered TP4 in Malaysia in 1990. It quickly spread to other parts of South-East Asia and then to Australia and Africa. TP4 is spread in dirt that is carried by the wind, water, cars and even people's boots. A tiny amount of TP4 can spread across large areas very quickly. Some scientists believe TP4 could kill the banana industry.

香蕉迷要傷心了。普通香蕉有絕種危險。“卡文迪什香蕉”銷往全球各地。全球數(shù)百萬香蕉樹種均遭到Tropical Race 4病毒侵害。這種病菌阻礙植物吸收水分，阻塞根莖。植物無法獲取水分，不久就會死亡。1990年，科學(xué)家首次在馬來西亞發(fā)現(xiàn)Tropical Race 4。并迅速蔓延至其它東南亞國家，澳大利亞和非洲等國也遭到侵害。Tropical Race 4通過土壤傳播，土壤通過風(fēng)、水、汽車甚至是靴子進行媒介傳播。微量Tropical Race 4就可以迅速蔓延至大片區(qū)域。許多科學(xué)家相信，香蕉產(chǎn)業(yè)會因Tropical Race 4而遭受滅頂之災(zāi)。

This is not the first time that a variety of banana has become extinct. Before we started eating the Cavendish banana, we ate a variety called the Gros Michel. Fifty years ago, the Gros Michel banana was the main banana grown around the world. However, it was hit by a fungus called Panama Disease. The Gros Michel banana became extinct in 1965 and banana growers switched to the Cavendish banana. The problem for the banana industry is that even if they burn all their banana plants, the fungus stays in the soil. This means new plants cannot be grown. Scientists say one option is genetically modified (GM) bananas that are resistant to diseases like TP4 and Panama Disease.

香蕉絕種已不是第一次。在”卡文迪什香蕉”之前，我們食用“大麥克”香蕉。50年前，“大麥克”香蕉是全球主要香蕉品種。然而，“大麥克”遭到“巴拿馬病”侵害。1965年，“大麥克”絕種，農(nóng)民們又選擇了”卡文迪什”。對于香蕉產(chǎn)業(yè)來說，即使將香蕉樹種全部燒毀，病菌仍會留在土壤中。這說明新品種無法繼續(xù)耕種。科學(xué)家認(rèn)為，一種方法就是轉(zhuǎn)基因香蕉，這種香蕉不會遭到像TP4 、“巴拿馬病”等疾病威脅。