Newsletter No. 369

4 No. 369, 19.12.2010 CAMPUS NEWS 校 園 消 息 校 園 消 息 CAMPUS NEWS 大豆回家研究榮登國際權威雜誌封面 • Soybean Research Makes Cover in Nature Genetics 中 大農業生物技術國家重點實 驗室與華大基因研究所合作 的「大豆回家」項目，在大豆基因解 碼取得重大發現，影響深遠，且為大 豆保育及育種帶來新啟示，因而獲 《自然—遺傳學》雜誌刊登為封面 故事。《自然—遺傳學》為遺傳學界 排名首位的學術期刊，影響力尤如最 權威的《自然》及《科學》雜誌。 中國約在五千年前開始種植大豆， 大豆外傳後，農業性狀產生明顯變 化，在人工篩選及馴化的過程中，出 現基因流失或改變。人工培植的大 豆有別於野生大豆，對野外惡劣的 環境適應力較弱。 中大農業生物技術國家重點實驗室主任辛世文教授（ 左 ） 和副主任林漢明教授（ 右 ）與華大基因研究所合作，開展 「大豆回家」研究項目，在野生大豆中找回栽種大豆所失 落的抗逆基因，令大豆可以在更多中國土地上種植。研究 隊伍完成了十七個野生大豆及十四個栽種大豆的品種測 序，找出了野生大豆和栽種大豆之間的基因組變化。結果 發現，野生大豆在基因的多樣性方面，遠高於栽種大豆。 林教授解釋：「這表示在野生品種內找到很多有利於可持 續種植的基因。」 中國人均耕地不足，品質不高，淡水資源亦短缺，對作物異 常不利。林教授說：「中國內陸、東北、沿海的鹽鹼地和西北 荒漠化的土地很多，因此作物的抗逆性是很有價值的研究 課題。此外，大豆的固氮能力很強，能以每年每公頃一百公 斤的效率把空氣中的氮轉化為有機物質，令土壤肥沃，修 復已退化的土地。」林教授的研究團隊已培養出耐旱和耐 鹽的大豆群體，正在西北乾旱地區和華北鹽鹼地試驗，配 合最近品種測序的數據，希望能有更大的應用價值。 「大豆回家」項目得到大學教育資助委員會卓越學科領域 基金、研究資助局及中大的共同支持。大豆研究廣受香港 社會關注，羅桂祥基金會最近即慷慨贈款予中大設立基 金，支持大豆研究。 information of soybeans, in order to improve their stress tolerance and to make them suitable for growth in more areas in China. The project has decoded the genomes of 17 wild and 14 cultivated soybean accessions and revealed their differences. Wild soybeans have higher genomic diversity than cultivated soybeans. Professor Lam explains, ‘That means wild species have more genetic resources that can facilitate their sustainable cultivation.’ Due to the depletion of good arable lands and fresh water resources in China, the effective utilization of marginal lands for cultivation has become a high-priority topic. Professor Lam said, ‘Northern China has many saline lands, and in the country’s hinterland, coastal areas and north western regions, arid lands abound. This makes the development of stress tolerant crops imperative. The soybean is also a nitrogen fixing crop that can absorb nitrogen from the air to fertilize soil at the rate of 100 kg per hectare per year, hence making it an environmentally friendly crop that can rehabilitate degraded lands.’ The research team led by Professor Lam has already identified anti-drought and anti-saline soybean lines and carried out field tests on them in arid regions in North- western China and on saline lands in Northern China. With the new genome sequencing data, he hopes that these soybean lines can be put to greater use. The ‘Homecoming of Soybeans’ project is jointly supported by the University Grants Committee’s Areas of Excellence Scheme, the Hong Kong Research Grants Council General Research Fund, and CUHK. Research in soybeans has aroused public attention. Recently, the K.S. Lo Foundation has made a generous donation to CUHK for endowing a research fund to support soybean studies. 論中國思想與政教關係 • Lecture on Chinese Thought 新 亞書院及崇基學院自2007年起與歴史 系合辦「余英時先生歷史講座」，今年 踏入第三屆，邀得中央研究院院士、美國俄亥 俄州立大學榮休教授張灝教授於11月蒞港主持 兩場講座。 張灝教授學識淵博，著述宏富，其於中國思想 史的研究，更卓然成家。張教授於11月25日 在利黃瑤璧樓一號演講廳主講「傳統儒家思想 中的政教關係─一個歷史的考察」，吸引三百 多名師生聽講，演講廳座無虛設。兩日後他到 尖沙咀歷史博物館演講廳主講「中國現代史上 思想的激化」，亦同樣受歡迎，逾百名社會人士 出席。 N ew Asia College, Chung Chi College and the Department of History have jointly organized the ‘Yu Ying-shih Lecture in History’ since 2007, which invities one distinguished historian to visit the University each year to lecture and hold seminars. This year, Prof. Chang Hao, Academician of Academica Sinica and professor emeritus of Ohio State University, was invited to deliver two lectures in November. Prof. Chang Hao is profoundly knowledgeable in many areas, most notably in the field of Chinese historical studies. He spoke on ‘Politics and Religion in Confucian Thought: A Historical Review’ in the Esther Lee Building on 25 November. The lecture was well received, with a full house of some 300 in attendance. Two days later, Professor Chang hosted another lecture entitled ‘Radicalization in Modern Chinese Thought’ at Lecture Theatre, Hong Kong History Museum, Tsimshatsui. Over a hundred members of the general public attended the lecture. ‘H omecoming of Soybeans’, a joint project between the State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology at CUHK (SKL-CUHK) and Beijing Genomics Institute— Shenzhen (BGI-Shenzhen), has made major breakthroughs in soybean genomic research. The study has a profound impact on soybean research and brings new insights on soybean conservation and breeding programmes worldwide. The finding has been published as the cover story in the December issue of Nature Genetics , the number one journal on genetics which enjoys an impact similar to the renowned scientific journals Nature and Science . The soybean was domesticated in ancient China around 5,000 years ago. Throughout the years, its agronomic traits have changed markedly with significant loss or change in genomic information under the process of domestication and artificial human selection. Unlike cultivated soybeans that have adapted to man-made fields, wild soybeans are adapted to sub-optimal growth conditions in their natural environments. Prof. Samuel S.M. Sun (left), director, and Prof. Lam Hon- ming (right), deputy director, SKL-CUHK, and researchers at BGI-Shenzhen joined hands to launch ‘Homecoming of Soybeans’, a project aimed at restoring the lost genomic Courtesy of Nature Genetics and Nature Publishing Group