Sweet deal：Companies and U.S. team up to map cocoa DNA 完美交易：企業與美國政府合作繪製可可DNA

Sweet deal：Companies and U.S. team up to map cocoa DNA 
完美交易：企業與美國政府合作繪製可可DNA
2008-06-30◎俞智敏

Chocolate maker Mars Inc, computer giant IBM and the U.S. Department of Agriculture said recently they would team up to map the DNA of the cocoa tree to try to sweeten the crop’s $5 billion market.
巧克力製造大廠瑪士公司、電腦業龍頭IBM公司及美國農業部最近表示，他們將合作繪製可可的DNA，好繼續拓展價值50億美元的可可市場。

"Sequencing the cocoa genome is a significant scientific step that will allow more directed breeding of cocoa plants and perhaps even enhance the quality of cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate," Mars said in a statement.
「替可可基因圖譜排序是一項重大的科學躍進，能使可可更進一步定向培育，或許還能改善可可豆的品質，可可為巧克力最重要的成分，」瑪士公司在聲明中指出。

"The collaboration will enable farmers to plant better quality cocoa and, more importantly, help create healthier, stronger cocoa crops with higher yields, pest and disease resistance, and increased water and nutrient use efficiency."
「這項合作將使農民種植更高品質的可可，更重要的是，有助於生產出更強健的可可作物、產量更高、對病蟲害抵抗力更強，同時增進水源與養份的有效利用。」

While conventional plant breeding techniques can transform a crop, having the complete genome offer researchers the opportunity to take short-cuts to changing the plant’s qualities.
儘管傳統的植物品種培育技術也能改良作物，但擁有完整的基因圖譜，研究人員在改變植物品質時就有機會採取捷徑。

The first crop to have its genome sequenced was rice -- an international effort that took years and which was finished in 2002. In April, a team at the University of Hawaii sequenced the genome of a genetically engineered papaya.
第一種完成基因定序的作物為稻米，這項國際合作的結果耗時數年，才終於在2002年完成。今年4月夏威夷大學團隊則替一種經基因改造的木瓜完成基因定序。

新聞辭典

sweet deal：片語，指划算、令人滿意的交易，如︰It’s a sweet deal for the companies who get these franchises.（對於取得這些經銷權的公司而言，這是一項划算的交易。）標題中的sweet deal為雙關語。

sweeten：動詞，非正式用語，指增加擔保品，或提高…的價值，或使更具吸引力，如︰The management sweetened the deal by offering an extra 2% to staff on the lowest end of the pay scale.（公司高層額外提供薪資最低的員工2%加薪，以增加達成協議的機會。）

yields：名詞，指產量、收穫量、利潤，如︰Crop yields have declined steadily.（作物的產量逐漸下滑。）