Department of Food Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
ZMBP Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2021 Apr 28;11(1):9195. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-88695-6.
The geomagnetic field (GMF) is one of the environmental stimuli that plants experience continuously on Earth; however, the actions of the GMF on plants are poorly understood. Here, we carried out a time-course microarray experiment to identify genes that are differentially regulated by the GMF in shoot and roots. We also used qPCR to validate the activity of some genes selected from the microarray analysis in a dose-dependent magnetic field experiment. We found that the GMF regulated genes in both shoot and roots, suggesting that both organs can sense the GMF. However, 49% of the genes were regulated in a reverse direction in these organs, meaning that the resident signaling networks define the up- or downregulation of specific genes. The set of GMF-regulated genes strongly overlapped with various stress-responsive genes, implicating the involvement of one or more common signals, such as reactive oxygen species, in these responses. The biphasic dose response of GMF-responsive genes indicates a hormetic response of plants to the GMF. At present, no evidence exists to indicate any evolutionary advantage of plant adaptation to the GMF; however, plants can sense and respond to the GMF using the signaling networks involved in stress responses.
地磁场（GMF）是植物在地球上持续不断经历的环境刺激之一；然而，地磁场对植物的作用还知之甚少。在这里，我们进行了一个时间过程的微阵列实验，以确定 GMF 在芽和根中差异调节的基因。我们还使用 qPCR 在剂量依赖性磁场实验中验证了从微阵列分析中选择的一些基因的活性。我们发现 GMF 在芽和根中都调节基因，这表明这两个器官都可以感知 GMF。然而，在这些器官中，有 49%的基因以相反的方向被调节，这意味着常驻信号网络定义了特定基因的上调或下调。GMF 调节的基因集与各种应激反应基因强烈重叠，暗示一个或多个共同信号（如活性氧）参与了这些反应。GMF 反应基因的双相剂量反应表明植物对地磁场的反应呈兴奋效应。目前，没有证据表明植物对 GMF 的适应有任何进化优势；然而，植物可以使用涉及应激反应的信号网络来感知和响应 GMF。
