From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
Scientists have discovered the genetic secrets of two unpopular members of two favorite food families. They hope the discoveries will produce tastier tomatoes and stronger rice.
科学家们发现了人们最喜欢的两种食物家族中两个不常见成员的基因奥秘。他们希望这些发现能够生产出更美味的西红柿和更强壮的稻米。
The scientists discovered the complete set of genetic rules of African rice and wild tomatoes. They published their studies in two reports in the journal Nature Genetics.
科学家们发现了非洲稻和野生西红柿的完整基因规律。他们将该成果发表在《自然遗传杂志》上的两篇研究报告中。
There are good reasons African rice and wild tomatoes have not been popular. Asian rice is more productive and easier to process than African rice. The wild tomato is poisonous.
非洲稻和野生西红柿不太常见有多种理由。亚洲稻比非洲稻更多产，更容易加工。而野生西红柿是有毒的。
Rod Wing is a plant biologist at Arizona State University. He helped map the African rice genes. And there is some good news to report.
Rod Wing是亚利桑那州立大学的一位植物生物学家。他帮助绘制了非洲稻基因，并且有一些好消息要报告。
"There are some varieties that have been kinda well-adapted to grow in kind of mangrove areas, which are quite a bit more salty than you would experience for Asian rice."
“有一些品种已经有点适应在红树林区生长，这种土质对亚洲稻来说太咸。”
Mr. Wing says African rice can grow in salty and even poisonous soil. And it can grow around weeds and in extremely dry conditions. He says this strength is increasingly important as climate change makes crop production more difficult. He says that this is important because the Earth's population is growing quickly.
Wing先生表示，非洲稻可以在咸的甚至有毒的土壤中生长。它还能在杂草丛生以及极其干燥的环境下生长。他说随着气候变化使得农作物生产更加困难，这种优势越来越重要。他说，这是很重要的，因为地球人口正在迅速增长。
"There's gonna be two-to two-and-a-half-billion more people on the planet in less than 40 years, and that's a pretty scary scenario."
“在不到40年内，地球上将会新增20亿到25亿人口，这是一个多么可怕的场景。”
Scientists will be able to make better rice faster. They can now identify the genes that control what is good about African rice and combine those genes with Asian rice.
科学家们将能够更快地研制出优质稻。他们现在可以确定控制非洲稻优良品质的基因，并将这些基因与亚洲稻相结合。
The wild tomato also has some good qualities. Scientists found that it can grow in salty as well as very dry conditions, like the African rice. Bjorn Usadel of Germany's RWTH Aachen University is one of the scientists who published the genetic maps of the two plants. The map identifies the genes that may be responsible for these qualities.
野生西红柿也具备一些优良品质。科学家们发现，它像非洲稻一样，可以在咸的以及干燥的环境中生长。德国亚琛工业大学的Bjorn Usadel是发布这两种作物基因图谱的科学家之一。该图谱确定了可能和这些品质相关的基因。
"The tomatoes are green and potentially there's something inside that's just not healthy; but there's also other interesting things inside."
“这种西红柿是绿色的，可能里面有什么东西不健康。但里面还有其它一些有趣的东西。”
The new map could also help improve the quality of tomatoes sold in food stores. Many people say these tomatoes do not taste very good. Mr. Usadel says researchers found differences in the genes of wild and farm-grown tomatoes that affect how they taste and smell.
该新图谱可以帮助改善食品店里出售的西红柿的品质。很多人说这些西红柿口味不太好。Usadel先生表示，研究人员发现了野生和农场种植的西红柿的基因差异，这些差异影响着口感和气味。
"So, even though these wild tomatoes definitely don't taste better, this population gives us actually an indication where the taste is coming from."
“所以，即使这些野生西红柿确实没有更好的口感，这种西红柿品种让我们知道口感来自哪里。”
The scientist says there is another use for the map. He says it will permit scientists to make sure that any new kinds of tomatoes developed from wild tomato do not carry any of its poisonous genes.
科学家们表示，这种图谱还有其它用途。他说，它能让科学家确保任何从野生西红柿研制出来的西红柿新品种不携带任何有毒基因。
And that's the VOA Learning English Agriculture Report. For more agriculture stories, go to our website 51voa.com. I'm Caty Weaver.
以上就是本期美国之音慢速英语农业报道的全部内容。更多农业新闻请访问我们的网站51voa.com。我是卡蒂·韦弗（Caty Weaver）。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)