内容来源：https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/ai/ai-to-preserve-endangered-species/

内容总结：

人工智能助力濒危物种基因信息永久保存

【本报讯】面对全球超过一百万物种可能面临灭绝的危机，一项结合前沿人工智能技术的基因保存计划正在加速推进。由洛克菲勒大学脊椎动物基因组计划领衔，并获谷歌人工智能技术与资金支持的国际合作项目，已成功完成包括哺乳动物、鸟类、两栖动物和爬行动物在内的13种濒危物种全基因组测序，相关数据已向全球保护研究人员免费开放。

此次公布的濒危物种名录涵盖多个全球重点保护动物：生活在哥伦比亚西北部森林、被誉为"种子传播者"的极危物种棉顶狨猴；栖息于马达加斯加破碎化森林的珍稀黄金曼蛙；种群数量锐减的格氏斑马；分布范围急剧缩小的努比亚羱羊；原生于东南亚的极危细长龟；遗传多样性持续丧失的印度野猪；需要跨种群育种管理的艾氏鹿；仅存于巴西东南沿海地区的金狮面狨；以及面临生存危机的非洲企鹅。

基因组测序技术的突破为物种保护带来革命性变革。以新西兰鸮鹦鹉保护为例，科学家通过对现存个体全基因组分析，成功制定繁殖计划将其从灭绝边缘挽救。此类基因数据不仅能揭示物种适应环境的演化密码，通过跨物种DNA比对，更有助于科学家理解生命演化史，为生态保护、农业发展和疾病防治提供关键科学依据。

值得关注的是，谷歌研发的DeepPolisher、DeepVariant等人工智能工具，将全基因组测序时间从十三年大幅缩短至数日，成本从30亿美元降至数千美元。近日谷歌公益基金会宣布向洛克菲勒大学提供专项科研资金，计划将测序物种再扩展150种，持续为构建地球生命基因图谱提供技术支撑。

这项跨越学界与科技界的合作表明，人工智能正在成为生物多样性保护的重要工具，为守护地球生命基因库开辟了新的技术路径。

中文翻译：

我们如何运用人工智能守护濒危物种的基因信息
科学家预测，全球可能有百万物种面临灭绝风险。若此刻不能准确记录它们的基因信息，我们将永远失去其中许多物种，并动摇那些维系人类粮食安全、气候调节与现代医药生物基础的生态系统。然而，为地球上数百万物种进行基因组测序是一项异常艰巨且成本高昂的任务——甚至近乎不可能——而洛克菲勒大学的埃里希·贾维斯领导的脊椎动物基因组计划，正携手谷歌人工智能技术迎接这一挑战。

为助力该计划及地球生物基因组计划实现"为所有已知地球物种测序"的目标，我们提供了资金支持与尖端人工智能工具，协助完成了涵盖哺乳动物、鸟类、两栖动物及爬行动物等类别的13种新濒危物种的基因编码保存工作，并于近期宣布追加支持。以下展示其中9个物种的基因组数据，这些数据已免费向保护生物学研究者开放。

极度濒危棉顶狨
栖息于哥伦比亚西北部森林，其以果实为主的食性有助于种子传播。这是全球最濒危的灵长类物种之一。
来源：国际野生生物保护学会

濒危金曼蛙
分布于马达加斯加偏远地区的碎片化森林栖息地，是地球上体型最小、最稀有的蛙类之一。
来源：Frank Vassen，摄于马达加斯加托罗托罗菲齐沼泽（维基共享资源）

濒危细纹斑马
作为体型最大的野生马科动物，过去几十年种群数量急剧下降，在其自然栖息地被列为濒危物种。
来源：Bernard Dupont，摄于肯尼亚桑布鲁国家保护区（维基共享资源）

易危努比亚羱羊
曾广泛分布于东北非洲及中东山区，如今种群规模持续萎缩。
来源：国际野生生物保护学会

极度濒危黄缘闭壳龟
原生于南亚与东南亚地区。保护主义者正着力守护野生种群，并推进人工繁育个体的野化放归。
来源：Wich’yanan (Jay) Limparungpatthanakij（自然主义者网站/维基共享资源）

濒危豚鹿
历史上曾广布于印度、巴基斯坦、缅甸、泰国等南亚与东南亚地区，如今面临种群锐减与基因多样性流失的双重危机。
来源：Shadow Ayush（维基共享资源）

濒危坡鹿
东南亚本土濒危物种。虽有人工管理种群遍布全球，但近亲繁殖普遍存在，需通过协同育种提升基因多样性，才能为野外重引入创造条件。
来源：国际野生生物保护学会

濒危金狮面狨
栖息于巴西东南部大西洋沿岸地区，种群数量曾一度锐减至仅数百只。虽经密集保护有所恢复，仍需持续干预以防止近亲繁殖与灭绝。
来源：国际野生生物保护学会

极度濒危非洲企鹅
在南非与纳米比亚的原始沿海栖息地，其种群数量已急剧衰退，若无紧急保护行动将面临灭绝风险。
来源：国际野生生物保护学会

基因组认知：物种保护的关键钥匙
通过解析这些动物的基因组——即完整的遗传指令（DNA）集合——科学家能够支持保护其基因多样性、防止物种进一步流失的行动。例如奥塔哥大学的研究团队曾分析现存所有鸮鹦鹉（全球唯一夜行性无翼鹦鹉）的基因组，据此制定的繁育保护计划正成功将该物种从灭绝边缘挽救回来。基因组不仅帮助我们理解特定物种如何适应环境，通过对比不同物种的DNA序列，生物学家还能更深入解读地球生命演化史。这些认知对未来在生态保护、农业乃至全球健康与疾病预防领域的突破至关重要。

绘制生命生物学全景
十余年来，谷歌研究人员持续开发人工智能技术，助力科学家实现从洪水预警到人脑神经图谱绘制等曾被视为不可能的任务。首个人类基因组测序曾耗费13年与30亿美元资金，如今我们仅需数日、数千美元即可精准完成人类、动植物基因组测序。谷歌研发的DeepPolisher、DeepVariant、DeepConsensus等AI工具在此进程中发挥了关键作用，曾经遥不可及的愿景——构建完整生命生物学全景图谱——正逐步成为现实，并将彻底改变现有科学认知。

当科学家运用谷歌技术解决现实难题时，其影响力最为显著。为推进脊椎动物基因组实验室与地球生物基因组计划的重要使命，谷歌慈善基金会近期将洛克菲勒大学列为"AI for Science"基金受助机构，计划将上述受保护物种再扩充150种——所有基因组数据将向科学界与公众全面开放。

英文来源：

How we’re helping preserve the genetic information of endangered species with AI
Scientists predict that one million species may be at risk of extinction. If we don’t accurately capture their genetic information now, we risk losing many of them forever and destabilizing the ecosystems that provide us with food security, climate regulation and the biological foundations for modern medicine. Still, sequencing the genomes of millions of species on our planet is an extraordinarily difficult and expensive task — if not impossible —and it’s one the Vertebrate Genomes Project, led by Erich Jarvis at The Rockefeller University, is tackling with Google’s AI.
To help them and the Earth BioGenome Project achieve their goal of sequencing all known species on Earth, we’ve supplied funding, support and cutting-edge AI tools to help preserve the genetic code of 13 new endangered species across several animal classes, including mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles — and recently announced more support. Here’s a look at nine of the species, whose genomes are free and available for use by conservation researchers.
The critically endangered cotton-top tamarin lives in the forests of northwest Colombia, and their fruit-rich diets contribute to seed dispersal. They are one of the most endangered species of primates in the world.
Source: Wildlife Conservation Society
The endangered golden mantella frog is found within fragmented forest habitats in a remote area of Madagascar. It is one of the smallest and rarest frog species on Earth.
Source: Frank Vassen, Torotorofotsy marshes, Madagascar via Wikimedia Commons
Grevy’s zebras, the largest of the wild equids, have undergone substantial reductions in their population over the last few decades. They are considered endangered in their natural habitat.
Source: Bernard Dupont, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya via Wikimedia Commons
The vulnerable Nubian ibex once inhabited a significant range in the mountains of Northeast Africa and the Middle East, but today their populations are dwindling.
Source: Wildlife Conservation Society
The critically endangered elongated tortoise is native to South and Southeast Asia. Conservationists are working to protect remaining wild populations and reintroduce captive-bred tortoises.
Source: Wich’yanan (Jay) Limparungpatthanakij, inaturalist.org, via Wikimedia Commons
The endangered hog deer was once plentiful throughout in South and in Southeast Asia, including India, Pakistan, Burma and Thailand. The species now faces serious decline and a loss in genetic diversity.
Source: Shadow Ayush via Wikimedia Commons
Eld's deer is an endangered species indigenous to Southeast Asia. Managed populations exist around the world, but inbreeding is common, and cooperative cross-breeding is required if managed populations are to be genetically varied enough for reintroduction into the wild.
Source: Wildlife Conservation Society
The endangered golden lion tamarins live in the Atlantic coastal regions of southeastern Brazil, where their populations once dwindled to just a few hundred individuals. Intensive conservation efforts have helped, but the species need continued intervention to prevent inbreeding and extinction.
Source: Wildlife Conservation Society
The critically endangered African penguins have significantly declined in their native coastal waters of South Africa and Namibia. They are at risk of extinction without urgent conservation efforts.
Source: Wildlife Conservation Society
Understanding a species’ genome could be the key to their conservation
By sequencing these animals’ genomes — their complete set of genetic instructions (DNA) — scientists are able to support efforts to preserve the genetic diversity of these animals and prevent further loss of their species. Researchers at the University of Otago, for instance, analyzed the genome of every living kākāpō, the world's only nocturnal and flightless parrot, and executed a breeding and conservation plan that is now successfully pulling it back from the brink of extinction. Genomes not only help us understand how a particular species has adapted to life in its environment; when we compare the DNA sequences of different species, biologists can also better understand the history of life on this planet. These insights are critical to future breakthroughs in conservation, agriculture, and even global health and disease prevention.
Understanding the biological picture of life
For more than a decade, Google researchers have been building AI technology to help scientists achieve what once seemed impossible, from forecasting floods to mapping the connections in the human brain. It took thirteen years and $3 billion to sequence the very first human genome. Now, we can sequence humans, animals and plants in a matter of days, with a few thousand dollars and with stellar accuracy. AI tools developed by Google, like DeepPolisher, DeepVariant and DeepConsensus played an important role in these improvements, and what once felt like a moonshot is within reach: a comprehensive catalogue that encapsulates a complete biological picture of life, changing science as we know it.
The technologies we build at Google have the strongest impact when scientists use them to solve real-world problems. To further the important mission of the Vertebrate Genome Lab and Earth BioGenome Project, Google.org recently named The Rockefeller University as a recipient of the AI for Science fund to expand the above number to 150 additional species — all to be openly released to the scientific community and public.