在托福考試中，考生會遇到各式各樣的學術型題目。今天Atlas將和大家分享生態學（Ecology）相關的背景知識——解讀廢棄口香糖的微生物群！！閱讀本篇文章，希望能夠幫助托福（TOEFL iBT）托福考生多認識不同領域的知識，累積更多的單字。
如果您想更有系統性地學習托福的背景知識，讓閱讀和聽力進步，歡迎進一步Atlas線上托福課程。課程不僅可以強化您的閱讀和聽力能力，還有專業老師提供一對一的指導，幫助你的托福口說和寫作進步，更輕鬆、更有信心地拿下托福考試。馬上聯絡我們！
主題摘要與托福單字
- Microbial Diversity and Succession（微生物多樣性與演替）：
The research team collected discarded chewing gum from sidewalks in Spain, France, Singapore, Greece, and Turkey, finding out that these abandoned gums have a diverse and dynamic microbial community.
研究團隊從西班牙、法國、新加坡、希臘和土耳其的人行道上收集了廢棄的口香糖，發現這些廢棄的口香糖擁有多樣化且充滿活力的微生物群落。
- Timeline of Microbial Succession（微生物演替的時間線）：
In a 12-week experiment, the team observed the evolution of microbial communities in discarded chewing gum. Initially, oral microbes dominated, but over time, environmental bacteria gradually took over and eventually stabilized in the later stages of the experiment.
在為期 12 週的實驗中，研究團隊觀察了廢棄口香糖中微生物群落的演變。 最初，口腔微生物占主導地位，但隨著時間的推移，環境細菌逐漸佔據主導地位，並最終在實驗後期穩定下來。
- Discovery of Chewing Gum Degradation Potential（香糖降解潛力的發現）：
The researchers found that some microbes exhibit practical potential in degrading chewing gum, providing promising insights for future bio-remediation strategies.
研究人員發現，一些微生物在降解口香糖方面表現出實際潛力，為未來的生物修復策略提供了有希望的見解。
- microcosm (n.) – 微觀世界
- microbial (adj.) – 微生物的
- succession (n.) – 演替
- ecological (adj.) – 生態的
- microbiome (n.) – 微生物群
- prolonged (adj.) – 延長的
- microbiota (n.) – 微生態系
- degrading (adj.) – 降解的
- bioremediation (n.) – 生物修復
- degradation (n.) – 降解
延伸閱讀：Decoding Discarded Chewing Gum’s Bacteriome
Discarded chewing gum might be a microcosm of urban ecology that we often overlook. A study conducted by the research team at the University of Valencia delved into the microbial composition and succession of discarded chewing gum collected from sidewalks worldwide.
The team collected samples of discarded chewing gum from sidewalks in Spain, France, Singapore, Greece, and Turkey. Employing advanced Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology, they conducted comprehensive DNA analyses on these samples to unveil the diversity and dynamics of the microbial communities within discarded chewing gum. Surprisingly, the results revealed diverse and dynamic microbial populations in the discarded gum, sparking significant interest among scientists in understanding the ecological succession of these communities.
The microbial succession in discarded chewing gum became a focal point of the study,too. In a 12-week outdoor experiment, researchers observed the dynamic changes in the microbial communities of chewing gum. The initial weeks predominantly featured bacteria from the oral microbiome, but over time, bacteria from non-oral environments gradually took over, reaching stability in the later stages of the experiment. Excitingly, even after 12 weeks, oral bacteria were still detected, albeit at a lower frequency, indicating the prolonged presence of oral microbiota in discarded chewing gum.
The study also aimed to identify bacteria capable of degrading chewing gum. Through DNA sequencing of gum samples from the outdoor experiment, researchers identified bacteria with known rubber-degrading potential, such as Bacillus and Corynebacterium. These bacteria increased in abundance during the experiment, suggesting their potential role in the bioremediation of chewing gum.
Furthermore, the researchers assessed the degradation capabilities of these bacteria by cultivating them in media supplemented with chewing gum powder. The results demonstrated that many of the cultured bacteria could grow in the presence of chewing gum-derived carbon sources, further confirming the potential of microbial communities in discarded chewing gum for gum degradation.
延伸閱讀中文翻譯
廢棄口香糖可能是我們經常忽視的城市微觀生態環境。西班牙瓦倫西亞大學（Universitat de València）的研究團隊曾做過一項研究，研究人員從世界各地的人行道上收集了廢棄口香糖，了解廢棄口香糖中微生物的組成跟演替。
在這項研究中，研究人員從世界各地的人行道上收集了廢棄口香糖樣本，並運用現代的Next Generation Sequencing技術，對這些樣本進行了全面的DNA分析。這項技術能夠快速而高效地揭示微生物的種類、相對豐度以及它們在不同環境中的變化。研究結果顯示，被遺棄的口香糖擁有著多樣且動態的微生物群，這種群落的演替過程引發了科學家們的極大興趣。
研究人員從西班牙、法國、新加坡、希臘和土耳其的人行道上收集了廢棄口香糖樣本，並運用先進的Next Generation Sequencing技術對其進行了全面的DNA分析，以了解微生物的多樣性和演變。令人驚訝的是，研究結果顯示，這些樣本中存在著相似屬的許多細菌，暗示著不同地區的相似性。然而，每個國家樣本中的屬的相對豐度差異明顯，這表明當地環境因素對廢棄口香糖微生物群的形成起著關鍵作用。
廢棄口香糖的微生物演替也成為研究的焦點。在一項為期12周的戶外實驗中，研究人員觀察口香糖微生物群的動態變化。結果表明，在最初的幾周，口香糖中主要是口腔微生物群的細菌，但隨著時間的推移，非口腔環境細菌逐漸增加，最終在實驗的後期達到穩定。令人興奮的是，即使在12週後，口腔細菌仍以較低的頻率被檢測到，表明廢棄口香糖可能長時間攜帶口腔微生物。
研究還著眼於識別能夠降解口香糖的細菌。透過對室外實驗中口香糖樣本進行DNA定序，研究人員發現了一些已知具有降解橡膠潛力的細菌，如芽孢桿菌和狄氏桿菌。這些細菌在實驗過程中逐漸增加，可能在口香糖的生物修復中發揮重要作用。
此外，研究人員通過在培養基中添加口香糖粉並觀察微生物的生長情況，進一步評估了這些細菌的降解能力。結果顯示，多數細菌在含有口香糖衍生碳源的培養基上生長，這進一步證明了廢棄口香糖微生物具有降解口香糖的潛力。
Atlas祝大家都能高分通過托福考試！
