拯救人类的种子

T he Sv albard vaul t w i ll h old backu p cop i es o fth ew orld 'splan t s.C u r ren t ly ,far -flun gan dv uln erab le seed b an ks arou ndt h e w orl d ar e t h e last d efen se f o r p l ant diversit yw it h i ni m po r tant reg ion al crop s.A r o un d the w o r ld,sci enti st s are ri skingt h eir li v es t oretr iev e seed s d est inedf o r a m assi v e vault near t he N or t h Po l e.T h ei r w ork j ust m ight save m an ki nd.T o visi t t he Sho l a m ar ket ,a t eem i n g m aze o f st all s i n A ddis A baba,E t hiopia,yo u'd n ev er kn ow that the h um an r ace's f o od supp l y w as in jeo par dy .M assi ve sacks st uff ed w i t h d r i ed chil i pepper s o ver flow o ntop i lesof v eget ables —p o t at o es,b eet s,car r o t s,o ni on s,t o m at o es.E nt ici ng sm ell s w aft 1fr o m thesp i ce sel lers'stal ls,cro w d edw it hco l o rf u l m ound s o f cum i n ,tur m er ic an d g i ng er.W an der i n g the m ar ket 's m ud dycorr ido r s,L u i g i G uari no stoop s to sm ell fr an ki n cen se and ex am ine fi st fu l s o f leg u m es.T o th e casu al o bserver,they 're just sack s f u l l o f b ean s.B u t t othe 48-year-o ld cr o p scientist,eacho n e is a ti n yb uffer ag ai n st w o rl d w i d e st arvati on .G uari no f inger s t he dri ed seeds w it h rever ence 2,b ecause he und erst and s ho wval u able —and f rag i le —t h ey real l y ar e.H e h as spent m u ch o f h is career tr o ll in grem o t eandex o t icl an ds,g atheri n g the g enet i c di v er sit y of the p l an t s that sust ainh u m anity.H i s w orkhas tak enh i m tor o adless v i ll ag es in O m an 's m ou ntai n s and acr o ss t he desolate Sahar a b et w een A l ger i a and N i ger ,all i n sear ch o f crop v arieti es w it hu niqu e t raits th at cou l dsom ed aysav e t he w or l d's har ve st —and i t s peopl e —f r om in f estation ,b l ig h t or d ro ug h t.L oo king up,G u ari no ex pl ai n s that i n cer tai n cou ntr ies,ind ust ri al p r o gress h as l ef t so m e of the w or l d's m ost i m por t ant f ood cr ops at r i sk of o bl i t erat i on .W hen i t co m es t o gat h er i ng food,"peop l e used t o be m o r e m o bi le,"h e say s,as the b eans si f t t hrough hi s f i n ger s."N o w t h ey have n ow h er e t o go.T hey'r e m o r e v ul n er ab l e t o thi n gs li ke dr ou ght.A s po pul ati on i ncreases an d m or e farm lan d is co nv ert ed t ourban areas,yo u have l ess land on w h i ch t o p r odu ce m or e f ood ."M eanw hil e,because the ef f ici ency of m od er n farm ing h as m ad e crop s so g en eti cal ly un i form ,the p l an t s on w hich hu m an s dep end —t h ose w e'v e bent to our w il l over t hou sand s of years —ar e at t he m ercyof 3ch ance.T h eysim p l yaren 't diver se eno ug h anym or e.T o end ur e,crop pl an t s,l ike their w il d co un t erpart s,n eedv ari edg en e p o ols.B u t the g enet ic d i v ersit yof o ur f oo d sup pli es i s w it h eri ng .In the p ast 200y ear s in t he U .S .alone,75p ercen t of the v arietyw it h i ncr o ps h as v an i sh ed .T h at's a d i sast er w ait ing to h ap pen .T o h elp prepar e for the w orst,i n F eb r uar y the N or w eg i an go ver nm ent ,t o get her w i t h t he G l o bal C r op D i ver si t y T r ust ,an o r gani zat ion i n R om e for w hi ch G uari no no wser v es as science coordi n at o r ,w i ll un v eil anim m en se fort ress,th e S v albar dG l o bal Seed V aul t ,bui l t on a f r i gi d,w i nd-w hi pped O ,6f Seedst o Savea Species拯救人类的种子19ar chi pel ago i n t he A r ct i c cean 00m i l es r omN or w ay.T he C r op T r ust's m i ssi on i s t o saf eguar d ag ri culture,andit has raisedm o re t h an$130m i ll io n of a$260-m ill io ng o al t odoso.It p lan s toperm an en tl y end owa n et w or k of seed and g ene banks—ar chives of essen t ial p l an t m at er ials—ar o un dt h e w o r ld.T he Sv albar dvault is it s ult im at e def ensi v e m easu r e:a last-d i tchreserv e,r ead yif al l elsefails.D ug near l y400f eet deep i nt o a sandstone m o u ntain,t h e v au l t'si n t eri o r t em per ature i si m m u n e t o ch an ges in the su r roun di n g perm afr o st.It si ts r o ug hly425f eet ab ov e sea l evel,protect ed agai n st f lo odev enif al l o f A ntar cti ca w ere tom elt.T h e en tr y t u nn el p asses t h r ou gh a seri es of st eel d oo r s and a hig h l ysop h i sti cat edv i d eosu rveil lancesystem b efo r e r eachi ng t hree cham b er s capabl e of holdi ng4.5 m ill io nsam p l es o f v i tal cro pseeds.S af e from nu cl ear w arfare,ter ro rist att ack s,n atural d isast ersan dg lo b al w ar m ing,t h e seed s stockp i led at Sv al b ardj u st m i g ht r evive our f oo d st or es in the even t o f a g l obal catastr o p he.S val b ar d'sf easib i lit yst u d y,co nd ucted byani nternat ion al t eam o f scien t i st s,con cluded, "O u r exi st en ce on ear th rests on ho ww el l w e t ak e car e of these seeds;and thei r ex i st ence depend s on u s."B u t b ef o r e t hey can b e d ehy dr at ed,sealed in sp eci al fo il p ack ages,an dlai di ntheir frozenresting place,the seed s m u st fir st b e co l lectedi nthe field.G u arinoi s par t of a sm all b ut dedicat ed b andof su ch seed co llecto r s.D an i el D ebo uck,aneb ulli ent B el g iansci entist, has spen t three d ecad es r o am i ngt h e A m eri cas on the t rai l o f un i q ue bean s."H e's m arr ied to t he b ean,"G u ari n o jok es,"bu t recen t ly h e h adanaff ai r w it h a cassava."A n d dozens o f o t her crop sci en t i st s, bo t an i sts an d biol o gist s each str ug gle,onm eager bu dg et s,t oretr iev e seed s f rom si m il ar lyr em o t e and dang erousr egions.W hy D i ver s i t y M at t er sI f t he w or d"bi odi ver si t y"t r i gger s any asso ciati on s for you,they p r ob ab l yhave to d o w it h rai n forests an dg o r ill as,n o t fi eldso f n eatl yp l an t ed corn,p eas andp ineap p l es.B u t agricu l tu r al cr o p s are sub ject tot h e sam e basi c l aw s o f biolog yan dnat u r al sel ect io nas al l livin gthin gs.T oad ap t an devo lve,to surv i v e diseasean dad just toch an g i n gen v i ron m en t al cond i ti o ns,thei r gene p ool m ust b e a m ixed b ag.C r o p yields w il l n eed t o rou gh l y d oub l e in t h e n ex t50years t okeep u p w it ht h e pace of p op ulati o n gr ow t h.A s a r esult,pr ot ect i ng ag r i cul t ur al b i od i ver si t y is m ore im p or tant than ever,and the p r eser v ati o n o f raw m at er ial necessary for crop s to adap t i s"the m o st f u ndam ent al t hing yo u can d o t o ensur e t hei r survival,"says C ar yFo w l er,a nat i v e T en nessean w hoi s t h e G l o bal C r o pD i v ersit yT rust's execut ive di rector and t h e m ai n visi o nary b ehind S v alb ard.T he r awgen et ic m at er i al s ar e stor ed i n gene b an ks al l o ver t h e w o r ld as seeds,plant t i ssu e an d w ho l e plan t s.F arm er s an d b r eed ers canob t ai nplan t m ateri al t ogrowin the fi el d o r to use for b r eed i n g speci fi c tr ait s.B u t t h ese b an k s are alsoanarchive, and p r eser v i ng t he gen et ic m at eri al i s a co m pl ex un der t aki ng.So m e seeds can sur vive f r ozen f or d ecades b ut m u st sti ll b e p eri o d i cal lythaw ed,t est ed f or vi abi l i t y,and r egr ow n—a t i m e-con sum i ng o perat ion.O t h er plants don't r espo nd w el l t o the d r y i n g an d fr eezi n g process.A p pl es,f o r inst an ce, sho u l dinsteadb e cryo g en i cal lyf ro zen,anexp ensi v e ef f o r t i m possibl e at al l bu t t he b est-f u nd ed gene banks,l i k e t he U.S.D epar t m ent of A gri cul tur e faci li t yi nFo r t C o l l ins,C olorado.C off ee p l an t s, m eanw h i l e,need to be co nt i n uousl y gr o w n i n the field.A ndstil l m o r eplants are culturedandsto r edin test tubes,w hich t akes a gr eat deal of ti m e and m one y.P r eser v i n g cr o p p l ants in g en e b an ks is a hedg e ag ai n st un know n f utur e t hr eat s.I t en sur es t h at d i v er sit yw i ll b e t h er e w henb r eeder s n eedit t ob reed p lan ts th at ar et o ler an t o f sal tier soils,for exam ple, o r resistan t toinv ad ingin sect s."Y o ud on't actual ly kn oww hat w i l l be n eeded by w hat countr y w hen,"20says Ju l i an L ai r d ,t he C r op T rust 's di r ect or of d evel o pm ent."I t co uld b e i n R w and a or i t co uld b e inC o l orad o."G en e bank s ar e one o f t h e f ewr el iab l e sources o f p l ant m at er ial t h at m igh t sav e t h e d ay .A breeder w hose co untr y faces a par ti cu l ar i nfest ati o n w il l n eed t o ex peri m ent w it h a w i de var i et y of gen eti c m ateri al w it h i nt hat cr o p t of ind a r esistan t gene."M y job ,"S t reet say s,"i s t o p ut toget h er b i g g en e p oo l s so that breeder s candig i n t ot h em ."S t reet 's facil it y i n Sy r ia m ay l o ok l ike no t h i n g b ut a t i d y st o r eho use f o r a few crop s,h e explains,b ut w i thin that col lecti o n ther e's a w i de v ar iety o f gen eti c m ater ial."W heat fr o m t h e high l an ds of E t hiop i a is l ikel y to be ver y d i f f er ent t h an w heat f r omthe h i gh l ands o f T u r km en i stan b ecause t h ey ev olvedt o be qui t e di f f er ent —j ust as you hav e a Pygm y p erf ectl y adapted to run ning throu gha f o r est an d a D i nk a adap t ed t or un ning throu gh the p l ai ns."A n i n t er nat ion al n et w ork of g en e bank s cal l ed theC on su lt at iv e G r o u po nInter n at ion al A gricu l tu r al R esear ch(C G IA R )st ores co l lect i o ns of m anycr o ps,w it h f u ndi ng f r omt he W or ldB ank,t he F ood and A gri cul ture O r g an i zat ionof t h e U n i tedN at ions an d ot her s.D ebouck and St r eet each cur at eC G I A R cen t er s,w hich serve as a h om e base f o r t h eir f ield ex ped i t i o ns.M an y co unt ri es al so m ai ntai n t hei r ow n gene b anks,an d t hose som et i m es house t he o nly specim en s o f a p art icu l ar seedvar iety.S i m i l ar ly,the G l o bal C r o p D iver si t yT r u st is t ryi n g t o create a l i n ked chain of gene banks b y en dow i ng t he m o st i m por tant of t hemar ou nd t he w o r l d."G ene banks are cl earl y one of t he basi c b uil dingblocks of a healt h y agri cu l tural sy st em ,"say s R oy S t ei ner ,a seni or pr ogr amof f i cer i n agr icu l tur al d evel o pm ent at the G ates Fo und ati on ,w h i chg ave $30m i lli o ntoth e T r u st."It'st h is l ib r ary that n at u r e has gi v en us fr om m i l li o ns of years o f evolut ion,and t h e f act t hat w e'r e all ow i n g these incr ed i b l e b oo ks to b e l o st is a tr ag ed y."G e ne banks t e nd t o be unde r f unded,d iso rgan i zed ,an dlo catedi nh ard-luckplaces,p art lyb ecause m u cho f t h e plan et's g en eticd iver si tyarose in w hat ar e n owt h e p oo r est cou ntr i es.M any of the 1,400f aci l i ti es ar oun d t he w orl d t h at descr ibe them sel ves as gene banks ar e,Fo w ler says,p l aces "w h er e y ou w o ul d n't w an t to st o r e a kid's m i l k for lu n ch."B ef o r e it g ainedno t o r iet yf o r i ts p r iso n,A bu G hraib w as t h e si te o f Ir aq's n ati o nal seed b an k.It w as destr oy ed and l ooted af t er the 2003A m er i can in vasi o n,i ts coll ect io ns o f len ti ls,r y e,bar leyan d o t h er seed s go ne f o r ever.A fghanist an's seed bank w as o bl it er ated d ur ing m ujahadeen f igh t i n g i n the 1990s;a cland est i n e seed coll ect i o n establi sh ed af ter w ard andhid den in a privat e ho use i nJal al abad w as al sol o o t ed —r o bb edfo r t h e plasti c b ott les u sed to st o r e t h e seeds.In 1985,a st ar v i ng g r ou p of hom el es s peopl e br oke i nt o Per u's N at i onal A gricu l tural Inst it u t e andm ade o f f w ith 4it s sw eet-p otato coll ecti o n.L ast year,a t y ph oo nw ashedaw ay the Ph i li p pines's g en e b an k —cou ntl ess var iati o ns o f sw eet po tato ,t aroan db an ana car riedo ff i na river o f m ud.W h at did w e l o se,exactl y?It 's im p ossi b l e t o say ."T h e prob l em in ex pl ai n i n g i t t o the p ubli c,"F ow ler say s,"i s w e d on 't k noww h at w as l ost.A nd y ou can say ,'W el l so w hat?'A n d I can't answ er ,'W ell,w h at w e'v e l o st w as the last form of resist ance toa d isease t h at w e'r e g oingto enco un t er five year s fr om no w .'"Savi ngt he W or l d,Invi si bl yT he f oot sol di er s of bi odi ver si t y have an ex t raord i n ar ilyi m p ortan t m i ssi o n ,bu t t h ep arti cu lar21ir o n yo f th eir efforts is th at i f thin gsturno u t as th ey ho p e,an dthebio div ersityo f plant l ife i spreserved,t he m at er ial t hey bri ng back t o t he i m pen et r abl e vaul t in N orw ay w i l l n ever t r u l y be n eed ed .If al l goes w ell ,no one w i l l k nowthe l engt h s t o w hi ch sci enti sts li k e G uar ino andFo w ler w en t.A n on ym it y and t h ank l essn ess hav e al w ay s been part o f thi s w ork.A cross t he sp r aw l an d chao s o f A d di s A baba fr om the S hola M ar ket i s the Insti tut e f o rB i o di v ersit yC o nser v ati o n.G uar inohas com e t o A dd i s w it h Fow l er t o discuss an en dow m en t for t h e E thi o pian nat ional gene b ank and it s rel at ionshi p w it hthe S val b ardvault.F or three h ou r s,t h e t w o m en sit w it hagro upo f E thio pianoffi cials,sip pin gthick sw eet en ed coff ee an d sn acking o n r o ast edbar l ey as t he y ham m er out an agr ee m ent t o ensur e t he co n t in uedsafetyo f the co un t ry 'sco l lecti o n s of nin e cru ci al cereal crop s.D ow nst air s,t h e o bject s of t h eir at ten t ionare w ai ti n g,vacu um -seal ed andfr o zen:w h eat ,sor g hu m ,t eff (t he gr ai n u sed t o m akeE thi op i a's nat i o nal bread,i n j er a).U pt o 400sp eci es o f these an d o t h er crop s ar e ho usedher e,60,000b ag s,eachco ntaining bet w een 3,000and 8,000seed s f rom t h e sam e species an dl o cation .E th i o p i ahasr etain edt h el argest am o u nt o f tr ad it io nal div ersi tyof anyco u n t ry .S everal o f the cr o pvari etiesst o redh ereareex tinct i nthefi eldsand ex i st o nly w i thin these w al ls,i non e of t h e w orl d 's poo r est coun t r ies,on the pl anet's m ost v ol at i le co n t in en t.Int h e l o b byo f t h e A dd is g ene b ankis a l if e-size ph otog r apho f N iko l ai V avil o v,the R u ssi anbo t anist w h o i n t h e ear ly 20th cent u r y d ev el o ped a l an dm ar k t h eoryab ou t theoriginsof cu l tivatedcro ps.T hearea w her e a cr op has had t he m ost t i m e t o evol ve,V avi lov posi t ed,w i ll be t he area w her e t hat cr o p co ntain s the g r eatest b readth o f genet ic diver si ty,an dt h eref o r e the area y ou 'll w ant to v isit if yo u're seek i n ga p ar ticular trait t ob r eedin toth e p lan ts.If ,for in st an ce,I relan d 'sg en eti call y f rag i lep o t atocrop i s h i t w it ha cr u sh ingb l igh t,kick ingo f f w i d esp r ead f ,f y f o und in t he A ndes,V avil ov r eason ed,w her e thepotat o ori gi nat ed and w her e t her e ar e sever al tho usandkn ow n v ari eti es o f the t u bers.T od ay ,cr o p scien t ists st il l r el yonV avil o v's n otionof "centers of d i v ersity"an dhai l h i m as b oth a hero and a m ar t y r.H e spen t h i s car eer cr o ssing p l aces li ke C hina,B oli v i a an d A b yssi n i a (m od ern-d ay E t h i op i a)onf o ot ,cam el anddon key,g ather i n g w h at w as at that tim et h e w o r ld 'sl argest collecti o no f seeds,bo t hcu l ti v at ed andw il d ,f o r con ser v at ion .T he g en et ic d i ver si ty co ntai n ed in those seed s,h e b eli ev ed ,r epresentedh um anit y 's h o pe for surv i v al.B ut p olit ics g ot int h e w ayof h i s w ork.S t ali nw an t ed n o t h ingt od ow i thgen etics,an dV avilov 's p r o g ressi v e ideas am ou n t ed to her esy.In 1940,i n h is ear ly 50s,V av il o vw as jailedfo r pu rsu ing"im p r actical scien ce."T hree y ears later ,h e st arved todeathi np r iso n .V av i l o v w asn 't the o nly R u ssian scien t i st w h o d i ed i n the n am e of cr o p diver si t y .D ur ing the 872-d ayN azi b lockad e of L ening rad ,V av i lov 's co l leag ues h oledu p insi d e the g en e b an khe f o un ded,d eterm ined to protect the seed coll ecti onf rom the G er m an s an d the cit y 's hu ng r yr esidents.T h ere,l o ck edi n side a b u i ld i n gfil ledw it hseeds,r o u gh lyado zenscientists d iedo f star v at io n."T h e r ice breeder l it er al lydiedsit ti n gat his d esk w it h bag s o f ri ce,"says Fow l er,shaki n g h i s h ead."I r em em b er visit ingt h e V av i lovI n sti tute in 1985and t ryi n g to un derst and w hat had g one on i n th i s b u i ld i n gthat p eop le w o u l dstar v e todeat hr ather than eat f o odont h eir d esks."H e p osedt h e q uesti o n to a w o m an."Sh e l o ok ed at m e q uizzi cal ly an d sai d ,'T hey w er e studen t s of V avi lov.'A s t ho ugh t h at ex p l ain edit al l."ASol vabl e Pr obl em Sval bar d and i t s m i ssi onar i es —G uar i no,S t r eet ,D eb ouck,Fow l er and t h e r est —ar e,i n a sen se,w o rkingto p rotect us fr o m ou r selves."W hat 's th e b i o log ical basi sf o r ag ri cu l tu r e?"asksStei n er o f the G ates F ou n dat ion ."It 's i nthe d i v ersi ty.N ature has been exper im ent i ng f or m i l l i ons of y ear s,f 22am i ne a gen e o r r esi st an ce w ould l o gi cal l bed ev el o pingall these sp eci es d esi g n ed o r par ticu l ar3斯瓦尔巴特全球种子库将保存全世界各类农作物种子的备份。