Fears that almost all of Britain’s ash trees face annihilation may be exaggerated, according to a comprehensive genetic analysis of ash across the UK and Europe.根据在英国和欧洲大陆对白蜡树(ash tree)展开的全面遗传分析，有关英国完全所有白蜡树都面对绝种的担忧有可能被高估了。The study, carried out by a collaboration of 12 academic research teams and published in Nature, found that British trees are more likely than their continental counterparts to carry genes that protect against ash dieback, a fungal infection with the potential to wipe out 90 per cent of the European ash population.这项研究由12个学术研究团队协同积极开展，结果公开发表于《大自然》(Nature)杂志。
研究找到，比起欧洲大陆的白蜡树，英国的白蜡树更加有可能装载抵挡白蜡树枯梢病(ash dieback)的基因；这是一种真菌感染，有可能杀掉90%的欧洲白蜡树种群。“It’s an encouraging hint that things may not be as bad as we had feared,” said study leader Richard Buggs of Queen Mary University of London and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.“这是一个令人鼓舞的消息，指出事情有可能不像我们此前担忧的那样差劲，”伦敦大学玛丽皇后学院(Queen Mary University of London)和皇家植物园邱园(Royal Botanic Gardens Kew)的研究带头人理查德.巴格斯(Richard Buggs)回应。
“But these are preliminary indications and I wouldn’t want to see government policy on ash dieback shaped by the research until we have more evidence for the susceptibility of British trees.”“但这些都是可行性迹象，在我们有更加多证据指出英国白蜡树的易感性之前，我想看见针对白蜡树寒梢病的政府政策受到此项研究的影响。”The encouraging news comes from the discovery of a link between reduced susceptibility to ash dieback and lower levels of plant chemicals called iridoid glycosides. Most British ash trees produce less of these compounds than continental ones, the genetic analysis suggests.这一令人鼓舞的消息源自这样一个找到：较低的白蜡树枯梢病易感性与较低水平的植物化学物质“环烯醚萜苷类”(iridoid glycosides)之间不存在关联。遗传分析或许指出，比起欧洲大陆的白蜡树，多数英国白蜡树分解的这类化合物较较少。
Mr Buggs said the findings might explain why ash dieback has not spread as rapidly in the UK as feared in 2012 when the fungus first arrived from continental Europe. “Most of our early models were based on the Danish experience,” he said.巴格斯回应，这些研究结果有可能说明了为什么2012年白蜡树寒梢病从欧洲大陆传播至英国时，没像人们担忧的那样较慢传播。“我们用于的多数初期模型都是基于丹麦的经验，”他说道。The disease causes trees to lose their leaves and eventually die. It has killed millions of plants in eastern and northern Europe since reaching Poland in 1992. Young trees die fast while mature ash often take several years to succumb.这种疾病不会造成白蜡树落叶，最后枯死而杀。自1992年传播至波兰以来，它已在东欧和北欧杀掉了数以百万计的白蜡树。
幼树迅速丧生，而成年白蜡树往往在几年后丧生。“Plants use a vast range of chemicals to defend against fungal attack, and the primary objective [of the project] was to identify differences which could be used to screen young ash trees and choose the best ones for replanting,” said co-author Murray Grant of the University of Warwick. “Our findings underline the need for further research to ensure that we select ash trees resilient to present and future threats.”“植物利用多种多样的化学物质来抵挡真菌肆虐，（该项目的）主要目标是辨识差异，以便检验幼树，挑选出最佳的树展开补种，”研究报告公开信作者、华威大学(University of Warwick)的默里.格兰特(Murray Grant)回应。
“我们的研究结果凸显了更进一步研究的必须，以保证我们检验出对当前乃至未来的威胁具备抵抗力的白蜡树。”While the genetic analysis is encouraging news for the fungal resistance of British ash, it may have a downside, too. Iridoid glycosides help to protect plants against insect pests, so low levels could make the British trees more vulnerable to the other big threat to European ash, a beetle called the emerald ash borer.虽然遗传分析在英国白蜡树的真菌抗性上带给了令人鼓舞的消息，但它也有可能意味著一个弱点。环烯醚萜苷类有助维护植物免遭虫害，因此这类化合物的含量较低有可能使英国白蜡树在另众多威胁——一种被称作白蜡较宽吉丁(emerald ash borer)的甲虫——面前更加薄弱。
The beetle has devastated vast tracts of ash in North America and is spreading westward from Russia into Europe. Although emerald ash borer has not reached the UK, arboriculturists fear its arrival is just a matter of time.这种甲虫在北美毁坏了大量白蜡树，并于是以从俄罗斯向西蔓延，直扑欧洲。虽然白蜡较宽吉丁仍未到达英国，但树木栽培者担忧，它们的来临只是一个时间问题。
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