在保持作物免遭害虫侵袭的斗争中,又发现一种武器——能够在害虫的细胞膜上“烧”洞的植物衍生化学物质。温哥华不列颠哥伦比亚大学的科学家们发现,有些叫做聚乙炔的自然产生的化学物质具有光毒性,也就是在光的作用下是有破坏性的。他们认为植物利用这些化学物质来自卫。植物化学家尼尔·托尔斯解释说: In the fight to keep the crop from being attacked by pests, another weapon was discovered - plant-derived chemicals that “burn” holes in the cell membrane of pests. Scientists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver have found that some of the naturally occurring chemicals called polyacetylenes have phototoxicity, which is destructive under light. They think plants use these chemicals to protect themselves. Neil Torsch, a phytochemist, explains: