英语科普复杂细胞进化史中缺失的一环

Inanewstudy,publishedinNaturethisweek,aresearchteamledfromUppsalaUniversityinSwedenpresentsthediscoveryofanewmicrobethatrepresentsamissinglinkintheevolutionofcomplexlife.Thestudyprovidesanewunderstandingofhow,billionsofyearsago,thecomplexcelltypesthatcompriseplants,fungi1,butalsoanimalsandhumans,evolvedfromsimplemicrobes.Cellsarethebasicbuildingblocksofalllifeonourplanet.Yet,whereasthecellsofbacteriaandothermicrobesaresmallandsimple,allvisiblelife,includingushumans,isgenerallymadeupoflargeandcomplexcelltypes.Theoriginofthesecomplexcelltypeshaslongbeenamysterytothescientificcommunity,butnowresearchersfromUppsalaUniversityinSwedenhavediscoveredanewgroupofmicroorganismsthatrepresentsamissinglinkintheevolutionary2transitionfromsimpletocomplexcells.Inthe1970s,theacclaimed3biologistCarlWoesediscoveredacompletelynewgroupofmicroorganisms,theArchaea,andshowedthattheserepresentedaseparatebranchintheTreeofLife--afindingthatstunned4thescientificcommunityatthetime.Despitethatarchaealcellsweresimpleandsmalllikebacteria,researchersfoundthatArchaeaweremorecloselyrelatedtoorganismswithcomplexcelltypes,agroupcollectivelyknownas'eukaryotes'.Thisobservationhaspuzzledscientistsfordecades:HowcouldthecomplexcelltypesfromeukaryoteshaveemergedfromthesimplecellsofArchaea?Inthisweeks'editionofNature,researchersfromUppsalaUniversityinSweden,alongwithcollaboratorsfromtheuniversitiesinBergen(Norway)andVienna(Austria)reportthediscoveryofanewgroupofArchaea,theLokiarchaeota(or'Loki'forshort),andidentifyittobeamissinglinkintheoriginofeukaryotes.Thepuzzleoftheoriginoftheeukaryoticcellisextremelycomplicated,asmanypiecesarestillmissing.WehopedthatLokiwouldrevealafewmorepiecesofthepuzzle,butwhenweobtainedthefirstresults,wecouldn'tbelieveoureyes.Thedatasimplylookedspectacular,saysThijsEttemaattheDepartmentofCellandMolecular5Biology,UppsalaUniversity,wholeadthescientificteamthatcarriedoutthestudy.Bystudyingitsgenome,wefoundthatLokirepresentsanintermediateformin-betweenthesimplecellsofmicrobes,andthecomplexcelltypesofeukaryotes,saysThijsEttema.WhenLokiwasplacedintheTreeofLife,thisideawasconfirmed.Lokiformedawell-supportedgroupwiththeeukaryotesinouranalyses,saysLionelGuy,oneoftheseniorscientistsinvolvedinthestudyfromUppsalaUniversity.Inaddition,wefoundthatLokisharesmanygenes6uniquelywitheukaryotes,suggestingthatcellular7complexity8emergedinanearlystageintheevolutionofeukaryotes,saysAnjaSpang,researcheratDepartmentofCellandMolecularBiology,UppsalaUniversity,andoneofthelead-authorsofthestudy.词汇解析：1fungin.真菌，霉菌参考例句：Studentspracticetoapplythestudyofgeneticstomulticellularplantsandfungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。Thelawnwascoveredwithfungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。2evolutionaryadj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的参考例句：Lifehasitsownevolutionaryprocess.生命有其自身的进化过程。Thesearefascinatingquestionstoberesolvedbytheevolutionarystudiesofplants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。3acclaimedadj.受人欢迎的参考例句：Theyacclaimedhimasthebestwriteroftheyear.他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。Confusciusisacclaimedasagreatthinker.孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。4stunnedadj.震惊的，惊讶的动词stun的过去式和过去分词参考例句：Thefallstunnedmeforamoment.那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。TheleadersoftheKopperCompanywerethenstunnedspeechless.科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。5molecularadj.分子的；克分子的参考例句：Theresearchwillprovidedirectinsightintomolecularmechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。Forthepressuretobecomezero,molecularbombardmentmustcease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。6genesn.基因(gene的名词复数)参考例句：Youhavegoodgenesfromyourparents,soyoushouldlivealongtime.你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。来自《简明英汉词典》Differenceswillhelptorevealthefunctionsofthegenes.它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。来自英汉非文学-生命科学-生物技术的世纪7cellularadj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的参考例句：Shehasacellulartelephoneinhercar.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。Manypeopleusecellularmaterialsassensitiveelementsinhygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。8complexityn.复杂(性)，复杂的事物参考例句：Onlynowdidheunderstandthefullcomplexityoftheproblem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。Thecomplexityoftheroadmappuzzledme.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。更多英语学习方法：企业英语培训