中国十大生态板材排名地下兰独秀地下花开万象

在地下深处，独具匠心的地下兰(Rhizanthellagardneri)以其怪异而迷人的风格，在植物界中脱颖而出。它的一生都隐藏在土壤之下，即便是花朵也选择了这个阴暗的环境绽放，这种独特的生存方式在自然界中无人能及。

然而，这个极度濒危的物种现今仅剩少于五十株野外生长者。科学家们紧急地对其基因组进行研究，揭示了一系列令人震惊的事实。2010年，西澳大利亚大学的一群科学家利用放射性追踪技术发现，这种兰花通过与金雀花(西澳内陆地区的一个木本灌木)根部真菌形成特殊合作关系，从而获得所有必需营养素。

Underground, the peculiar Rhizanthella gardneri blooms in a style that is both strange and captivating, standing out in the plant kingdom. It spends its entire life underground, even going so far as to flower there - a unique survival strategy that has no equal in nature.

However, this highly endangered species now numbers less than 50 individuals growing wild. Scientists are working intensively to study its genome, revealing some astonishing facts. In 2010, researchers at Western Australia University used radioactive tracing techniques to discover that this orchid obtains all the nutrients it needs through a special symbiotic relationship with fungi on the roots of Banksia (a woody shrub native to Western Australia's inland regions).

This particular orchid lacks any green parts and is completely unable to photosynthesize; yet it retains chloroplasts - the organelles responsible for photosynthesis in plants. "We found that 70% of its chloroplast genes have been lost compared to ordinary plants," said Dr Etienne Duret-Lutz, lead researcher on the project and director of ARC Plant Energy Biology Research Centre. "It only has 37 genes - fewer than any known plant chloroplast genome."

"We already knew that chloroplast genomes specify genetic codes for functions beyond photosynthesis," said Professor Ian Small from ARC Centre for Excellence in Plant Sciences."But these functions are hard to study in ordinary plants." In contrast, underground orchids have had everything except what's necessary for their parasitic lifestyle cut away.

Scientists discovered that it retains only one set of genes essential for four key proteins within its chloroplast genome - making research much easier. Mark Brandis Vice President of Orchid Rescue Project calls it one of the most beautiful and unusual signature orchids worldwide: "On-site conservation combined with cutting-edge lab technology has led to significant discoveries impacting both science and conservation." The genomic sequence is an invaluable resource enabling us assess genetic diversity among such rare species.

[1] [2]