Department of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany.
Department of Training and Movement Science, Mainz University, 55122 Mainz, Germany.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Apr 23;19(9):5144. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19095144.
Natural and anthropogenic electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are ubiquitous in the environment and interfere with all biological organisms including plants. Particularly the quality and quantity of alternating EMFs from anthropogenic sources are increasing due to the implementation of novel technologies. There is a significant interest in exploring the impact of EMFs (similar to those emitted from battery chargers of electric cars) on plants. The model plant was exposed to a composite alternating EMF program for 48 h and scrutinized for molecular alterations using photosynthetic performance, metabolite profiling, and RNA sequencing followed by qRT-PCR validation. Clear differences in the photosynthetic parameters between the treated and control plants indicated either lower nonphotochemical quenching or higher reduction of the plastoquinone pool or both. Transcriptome analysis by RNA sequencing revealed alterations in transcript amounts upon EMF exposure; however, the gene ontology groups of, e.g., chloroplast stroma, thylakoids, and envelope were underrepresented. Quantitative real-time PCR validated deregulation of some selected transcripts. More profound were the readjustments in metabolite pool sizes with variations in photosynthetic and central energy metabolism. These findings together with the invariable phenotype indicate efficient adjustment of the physiological state of the EMF-treated plants, suggesting testing for more challenging growth conditions in future experiments.
自然和人为电磁场（EMF）在环境中无处不在，干扰包括植物在内的所有生物有机体。特别是由于新技术的实施，人为来源的交流电 EMF 的质量和数量正在增加。人们对探索电磁场（类似于电动汽车充电器发出的电磁场）对植物的影响非常感兴趣。该模式植物接受了为期 48 小时的复合交流电 EMF 处理，并通过光合性能、代谢物分析和 RNA 测序以及 qRT-PCR 验证来研究分子变化。处理过的和对照植物之间的光合参数明显不同，表明非光化学猝灭较低或质体醌库的还原较高或两者兼有。RNA 测序的转录组分析显示 EMF 暴露后转录物数量发生变化；然而，叶绿体基质、类囊体和包膜等基因本体组的代表性不足。定量实时 PCR 验证了一些选定转录物的失调。在光合作用和中心能量代谢中，代谢物池大小的变化更为明显。这些发现以及不变的表型表明，受 EMF 处理的植物的生理状态得到了有效的调节，这表明在未来的实验中测试更具挑战性的生长条件。
