植物分类学发展前瞻——从“描述”转向“解释”

Evolving Plant Taxonomy: Moving from “Description” to “Explanation”

摘要

<正>1分类学发展瓶颈问题植物分类学是一门发展相对成熟又是以描述为主的学科。随着各类植物志或有关专著等工作的完成，学科发展遇到了“瓶颈”，甚至成为了需要扶持或“拯救”的学科。2分类学发展转向预测分类学的发展应该注入新的技术方法如大数据、人工智能等，提升植物分类的准确性、高效性及方便性，以及支撑其他学科发展和服务社会需求的重要的基础性和不可替代性。

1 分类学发展瓶颈问题

植物分类学是一门发展相对成熟又是以描述为主的学科。随着各类植物志或有关专著等工作的完成，学科发展遇到了“瓶颈”，甚至成为了需要扶持或“拯救”的学科。

2 分类学发展转向预测

分类学的发展应该注入新的技术方法如大数据、人工智能等，提升植物分类的准确性、高效性及方便性，以及支撑其他学科发展和服务社会需求的重要的基础性和不可替代性。随着分子系统学、分子生物地理学、谱系地理学等学科的发展及基因组学的广泛的融入和运用，对物种概念特别是分类学种的概念提出了新的挑战，如“隐存种”以及基因渗透导致的物种界限或进化支系的不确定性等，需要从物种不同进化阶段来理解物种或重新审视物种的概念或范围。分类学应该从“描述”转向“解释”，应该有创新的思维发展和新的学科方向，如“重要分类性状的形成”或“驱动物种快速形成或进化的创新性状”的分析及运用等。分类学是包罗万象的学科，需要进行学科交叉并从中发现新的生长点。例如，同进化基因组学结合，探讨植物分类性状的形成机制；同植物化学交叉，寻找新的资源或完善系统分类方面的问题；同保护生物学融合，为生物多样性保护提供有效的支撑等。同时，植物分类学也应该融入到生态文明建设中来，寻找机会和空间发展新的领域。

1 Key challenges in advancing plant taxonomy

Plant taxonomy is a relatively mature and descriptive discipline but several challenges exist that hinder progress and innovation. With the completion of various flora or related monographs， its development has encountered “bottlenecks” and even become a subject that needs “support” or “rescue”.

2 The next frontier in plant taxonomy

To develop taxonomy， new technologies such as mega-data and artificial intelligence should be introduced. These technologies could improve the accuracy， efficiency， and convenience of plant classification. This advancement move will provide support for development of other disciplines and serve the important foundational and irreplaceable needs of society. As molecular phylogenetics and molecular biogeography evolved， as well as genomics was widely integrated and applied， species concepts， especially taxonomic species， faced new challenges， such as cryptic species and the uncertainty surrounding species boundaries or evolutionary lineages as a result of gene introgression. It is necessary to understand the species or re-examine the concept of species from different stages of evolution. Taxonomy should shift from "description" to "explanation". The innovative thinking is needed to develop new disciplinary growth points such as the formation of important taxonomic traits or the analysis and application of innovative traits that drive rapid species formation or evolution. Taxonomy is a comprehensive discipline that requires interdisciplinary exploration to discover new growth points， combining genomics to explore the formation mechanism of taxonomic traits， intersecting with plant chemistry and seeking new resources or addressing issues related to classification， and integrating with conservation biology to provide efficient and accurate support for biodiversity conservation. At the same time， it should also provide basic support for the harmonious development of humans and nature.

基金资助

国家自然科学基金区域发展联合基金项目(U23A20149)