近期，University of Delhi 的 Vijay Kumar和Bhupendra Chaudhary 在 Sustainable Horizons 发表综述文章，讨论了人工智能支持下的可持续农业管理，展望了基因工程等生物技术在未来农业中的应用前景。
原文链接：https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2022.100026
- 研究背景 -
由于全球人口的不断增长，城市和工业用地持续扩张，农业土地资源持续减少，农业部门急需提高粮食产量以缓解土地短缺带来的压力。预计在2050年，作物产量须提高70%才能满足消费者的需求。我们需要更加先进的技术和管理手段来应对挑战。
转基因和基因编辑技术虽然大大提高了作物产量，但对人类健康，环境安全和经济运行的潜在影响尚不明确。计算机技术在农业中的应用正在改变传统农业，它不仅提供了更好的管理模式，还促进了作物年产量的提高。
- 文章亮点 -
◇ Crops urgently need gene pyramiding to sustain yields and combat weather change.
◇ Key to agri-sustainability is an alliance of molecular breeding & genetic-engineering.
◇ Biotechnology methods address sustainability of renewable resources.
◇ Engineering of bacteria, yeast & plants for biofuel production boosts energy sector.
◇ AI-powered solutions integrated with agri-challenges provide environment resilience.
- 结果与讨论 -
现代农业作物本质上是野生植物经过人类长时间驯化衍生出的特殊品种。这种驯化有选择地特化了作物的某些表型，如棉花的纤维质量，番茄的果实形状等等。图一展示了部分作物以及他们被驯化的主要地点。
Fig. 1. Selected crop plants showing their centers of domestication worldwide, along with agronomic traits evolved under millennia of human selection.
由于只有特定的性状被允许进一步进化，作物抵抗环境变化的能力很大程度上被削弱。目前，大部分转基因作物的做法是将野生品种中所需性状的等位基因转移到作物的基因库内，以达到性状转移的效果。
这种方法已经成功提高了作物对病虫害的抗性，提高了作物产量，改善了作物非生物胁迫耐受性，同时，也有通过跨物种的异源基因进行基因改造的做法。但在全球气候变化的大环境下，农作物的产量仍然受到了影响，如图二所示。
Fig. 2. Evolution of agronomic traits in plants through the utilization of distant alleles present in different gene pools.
由于转基因作物中的特殊基因可能会转移到其他生物中，公众对其接受度仍然较低。转基因作物对环境的负面影响仍然有待考量，但其对可持续环境的正面影响也不容忽视——其能够有效减少农药的使用和机械化耕作期间的燃料消耗，从而保护农田中昆虫的生物多样性，减少温室气体排放。
不可再生资源的过度开发已经导致了温室气体的大量排放以及各种类型的环境污染。为了实现可持续发展，生物技术的应用相当重要。图三展示了生物技术在能源中的应用。利用植物，细菌和真菌生产的生物燃料能够有效地替代化石燃料。其中，以木质纤维素为原料的可再生能源处理成本较低且对环境污染较小，更适合大规模商业化生产。
Fig. 3. Effect of various abiotic and biotic stress conditions on the crop yields, worldwide.
可以预见的是，人工智能和机器学习技术与基因工程技术的结合将成为未来农业的发展道路。人工智能将更加高效地评估作物对气候的适应性，识别在不同气候条件下实现最佳产量的基因组合，避免气候变化的有害影响。人工智能技术还能实现对田间各种胁迫条件的精准管控。已有的模型能够对部分植物疾病和害虫做出识别，精准度高达99%。
- 结论和展望 -
基因工程技术不仅能够提高农作物产量，抵抗气候变化，还有助于可再生能源领域的发展，为生物环境修复提供新的思路。人工智能技术能够实现田间土壤和气候条件的自动评估，帮助精准育种和作物疾病控制。基因工程技术和人工智能技术将成为未来几十年内全球农业发展的重要推力。
作者简介
Bhupendra Chaudhary received the M.Phil. degree in Botany from University of Delhi, India in 1999 and a PhD. Degree in Crop genetics and Biotechnology from University of Delhi, India in 2006. Currently, he is Assistant Professor of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology at Gautam Buddha University, India. He is an eminent scientist of agricultural technologies and having in-depth knowledge of crop evolutionary genetics and biotechnology. His current research interests include the evolutionary genetics of cotton fiber development which encompasses molecular and genome evolution, phylogenetics, and functional characterization of key gene families evolved under cotton domestication using transgenic technologies in cotton.
Vijay Kumar received a Ph.D. in Botany from Department of Botany, University of Delhi, India in 2004. Currently he is Associate Professor of Botany at Shivaji College, University of Delhi, India. He has been working on the vegetation development on the fly ash dumps/dykes; development of vegetation filter strips to control air pollution; biotechnological imorovements of crop plants and crop residue management. His specialization is in restoration ecology, bioremediation and urban ecology.
单位简介
Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) by the University Grants Commission (UGC). As a collegiate university, its main functions are divided between the academic departments of the university and constituent colleges. Consisting of three colleges, two faculties, and 750 students at its founding, the University of Delhi has since become India's largest institution of higher learning and among the largest in the world. The university has 16 faculties and 86 departments distributed across its North and South campuses. It has 91 constituent colleges. The Vice President of India serves as the university chancellor.
引用格式：
Bhupendra, C., Vijay, K., 2022. Emerging technological frameworks for sustainable agriculture and environmental management. Sustainable Horizons 3, 100026.
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