To study whether short exposure (10 minutes) of a plant to a low level radiofrequency electromagnetic field, similar to that used in mobile phones, could evoke a rapid biological response at the molecular level in tomato plants.
In order to determine if there was a dose response relationship between electromagnetic fields applied and the amount of transcript accumulated, plants were also exposed at others doses and durations.
Leaf tissue was harvested at 15, 30, and 60 minutes after exposure (in some experiments also immediately and after 5 minutes).
| Exposure | Parameters |
|---|---|
|
Exposure 1:
900 MHz
Modulation type:
CW
Exposure duration:
continuous for 10 min
|
|
|
Exposure 2:
900 MHz
Modulation type:
CW
Exposure duration:
continuous for 2 min
|
|
| Frequency | 900 MHz |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Exposure duration | continuous for 10 min |
| Modulation type | CW |
|---|
| Exposure source |
|
|---|---|
| Chamber | The MSRC (mode stirred reverberation chamber) consisted of a large room (200 m³) with a double-layered steel wall, acting as a Faraday cage, an antenna, and movable blades to stir the EMF. Tomato plants were grown inside plywood culture chambers. Shielded chambers were enclosed in a polymer mesh covered with aluminium foil to protect the plants from exposure [Vian et al., 2006]. |
| Setup | When the plants were 3 weeks old, the whole culture chamber was placed in the MSRC (24 h prior to irradiation) in a determined working volume where the field was homogeneous and isotropic. |
| Additional info | The fourth terminal leaf (exposed and shielded) was harvested at different times after exposure (0, 5, 15, 30, and 60 min). |
| Measurand | Value | Type | Method | Mass | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| electric field strength | 5 V/m | - | - | - | average signal amplitude of a GSM phone |
| electric field strength | 40 V/m | - | - | - | close to the French legal emission limit |
Exposure to the electromagnetic fields induced a biphasic response, in which the levels of all three transcripts increased four- to six-fold 15 min. after the end of exposure, dropped closely to initial levels after 30 min., and then increased again at 60 min. after exposure. Although not identical, the kinetics and amplitudes of the transcripts showed striking similarities with physiologic responses following injurious treatments. Thus, the authors propose that radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure may constitute an environmental stimulus for the tomato plants.
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