Bivins R
J Hist Biol. 2000 Spring;33(1):113-39. doi: 10.1023/a:1004779902860.
Between 1946 and 1960, a new phenomenon emerged in the field of bacteriology. "Bacterial sex," as it was called, revolutionized the study of genetics, largely by making available a whole new class of cheap, fast-growing, and easily manipulated organisms. But what was "bacterial sex?" How could single-celled organisms have "sex" or even be sexually differentiated? The technical language used in the scientific press - the public and inalienable face of 20th century science - to describe this apparently neuter organism was explicit" the cells "copulated," had "intimate contact," "conjugal unions," and engaged in "menage a trois" relationships. And yet, to describe bacteria as sexually reproducing organisms, the definition of sex itself had to change. Despite manifold contradictions and the availability of alternative language, the notion of sexually active (even promiscuous) single-celled organisms has persisted, even into contemporary textbooks on cell biology and genetics. In this paper I examine the ways in which bacteria were brought into the genetic fold, sexualized, and given gender; I also consider the issues underlying the durability of "bacterial sex."
1946年至1960年间，细菌学领域出现了一种新现象。所谓的“细菌性行为”在很大程度上革新了遗传学研究，主要是因为它提供了一类全新的、廉价、生长迅速且易于操控的生物体。但什么是“细菌性行为”呢？单细胞生物怎么会有“性行为”，甚至存在性别差异呢？科学刊物——20世纪科学面向公众且不可分割的一面——用来描述这种看似中性的生物体的专业术语非常直白：细胞“交配”、有了“亲密接触”、进行“结合”，并建立“三角关系”。然而，要将细菌描述为有性繁殖的生物体，性本身的定义就必须改变。尽管存在诸多矛盾，且有其他表述方式，但有性活动（甚至滥交）的单细胞生物体这一概念一直存在，甚至在当代细胞生物学和遗传学教科书中也能看到。在本文中，我将探讨细菌是如何被纳入遗传学范畴、被赋予性别特征以及这种赋予性别的现象为何持久存在等问题。
