title: Plant Responses to High Frequency Electromagnetic Fields.
abstract: High frequency nonionizing electromagnetic fields (HF-EMF) that are increasingly present in the environment constitute a genuine environmental stimulus able to evoke specific responses in plants that share many similarities with those observed after a stressful treatment. Plants constitute an outstanding model to study such interactions since their architecture (high surface area to volume ratio) optimizes their interaction with the environment. In the present review, after identifying the main exposure devices (transverse and gigahertz electromagnetic cells, wave guide, and mode stirred reverberating chamber) and general physics laws that govern EMF interactions with plants, we illustrate some of the observed responses after exposure to HF-EMF at the cellular, molecular, and whole plant scale. Indeed, numerous metabolic activities (reactive oxygen species metabolism, α- and β-amylase, Krebs cycle, pentose phosphate pathway, chlorophyll content, terpene emission, etc.) are modified, gene expression altered (calmodulin, calcium-dependent protein kinase, and proteinase inhibitor), and growth reduced (stem elongation and dry weight) after low power (i.e., nonthermal) HF-EMF exposure. These changes occur not only in the tissues directly exposed but also systemically in distant tissues. While the long-term impact of these metabolic changes remains largely unknown, we propose to consider nonionizing HF-EMF radiation as a noninjurious, genuine environmental factor that readily evokes changes in plant metabolism.
authors.affiliation: Université d'Angers, Campus du Végétal, UMR 1345 IRHS, CS 60057, SFR 4207 QUASAV, 49071 Beaucouzé Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vian
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, P.O. Box 7612, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.affiliation: Université Blaise Pascal, 24 avenue des Landais, 63177 Aubière Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gendraud
authors.affiliation: Institut Pascal, Université Blaise Pascal, BP 10448, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France; CNRS, UMR 6602, 63171 Aubière, France.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bonnet
mesh_terms: D002952:Citric Acid Cycle / Q000528:radiation effects; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000528:radiation effects*; D063245:Plant Development / Q000528:radiation effects*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D010944:Plants / Q000528:radiation effects*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species