Sensitivity of plants to high frequency electromagnetic radiation: cellular mechanisms and morphological changes

Abstract

Sensitivity of plants to high frequency electromagnetic radiation: cellular mechanisms and morphological changes Shalinder Kaur, Alain Vian, Shikha Chandel, Harminder PalSingh, Daizy Rani Batish, Ravinder Kumar Kohli. Sensitivity of plants to high frequency electromagnetic radiation: cellular mechanisms and morphological changes. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2021). doi.org. Abstract The technological advancement and increased usage of wireless and other communication devices have greatly enhanced the level of radiofrequency electromagnetic field radiation (EMF-r) in the environment. It has resulted in unprecedented increased exposure of living organisms to these radiations. Most of the studies in past have, however, focused on animal systems and comparatively less attention has been paid to plants with studies reporting various, sometimes contradictory effects. This review is an attempt to provide a critical appraisal of the available reports regarding the impacts of these radiations on plant development and the underlying physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms involved. Here, we propose that the main entry point for the biological effects of EMF-r corresponds to an increase in ROS metabolism and cytosolic calcium that leads to various cellular responses including changes in gene expression and/or enzymatic activities, which could ultimately result in immediate cellular alterations or delayed plant growth. This may constitute a new perspective in the interpretation of plant responses to EMF-r exposure. Understanding the impacts of EMF-r and the inherent abilities of plants to cope up with such changes should lead to EMF-r being considered as full- fledged environmental signals that are perceived by the plants and integrated into their development patterns. Conclusion and perspectives Over the course of past decades, the extensive applications of EMF-r producing devices, and their potential to induce biological effects, have encouraged scientists to investigate the possible mechanisms of their action. Few studies have documented the progressive impacts of EMF-r on biota; however, studies with appropriate methodology suggested biological effects that require additional experimentation to understand their integration into plant development (rather than describing them in terms of positive or negative effects, as often found in the literature). The contradictory outcomes of studies suggest that the effects of EMF-r may be highly dependent upon exposure conditions (power density, frequency, and duration) and are species specific. A standardization of the procedure in use to expose plant to EMF-r, at least for model plants (arabidopsis, tomato, wheat, maize…) and for common frequencies (900, 1800 and MHz) would be highly valuable to allow a better comparison of the measured biological effects. However, the initial interaction and mechanism of EMF-r with plant tissue (the ‘‘primo-interaction’’) is not yet understood, even if several putative mechanisms have been proposed. These include dipole transition of polar structures (Amat et al. 2006), forced vibration of free ions (Panagopoulos et al. 2000, 2002) or modification of ligand binding capacity (Chiabrera et al. 2000). These uncertainties make difficult the elaboration of efficient strategies to characterize the complexity of the plant response. The literature emphasizes that EMF-r interfere with the growth and development of plants at the molecular or whole plant level, clearly involving some factors (calcium, ROS, secondary metabolites, ATP) of plant responses to environmental cues. There are convincing evidences to consider EMF-r as real environmental signals’ that plants possibly integrate into their development. Nevertheless, in the real environment, EMF-r induced stress is certainly of secondary importance in comparison with other more serious stresses for plants (drought, pathogen attack, wind, etc.). However, an unintended consequence is that a constant level of exposure to electromagnetic fields may condition plants to respond secondarily more efficiently to a severe stress, installing a kind of memory in the plant (Thellier et al. 2000; Hilker et al. 2016). This hypothesis would be worth testing experimentally and may have valuable application in agriculture. In this perspective, global approaches to plant responses to EMF-r exposure (RNA sequencing, proteomics, metabolomics, DNA methylation, etc.) are still too few in the present literature for a more exhaustive knowledge of the metabolic pathways affected by exposure to EMF-r and should be investigated/deciphered in experimental designs. link.springer.com

AI evidence extraction

Main findings

This review critically appraises reports on radiofrequency EMF radiation effects on plants, noting that published findings are sometimes contradictory and may depend on exposure conditions (power density, frequency, duration) and species. It proposes that increased ROS metabolism and cytosolic calcium may be key early events leading to downstream cellular responses (e.g., gene expression/enzymatic activity changes) and immediate or delayed growth effects, and argues there is evidence to consider RF-EMF as an environmental signal integrated into plant development.

Outcomes measured

• Plant development and growth (morphological changes)
• Physiological responses
• Biochemical responses (including ROS metabolism)
• Molecular responses (gene expression, enzymatic activities)
• Cytosolic calcium changes
• Secondary metabolites
• ATP-related responses

Limitations

• Reports described as sometimes contradictory
• Effects suggested to be highly dependent on exposure conditions (power density, frequency, duration) and species-specific
• Need for standardized exposure procedures for model plants and common frequencies
• Initial interaction mechanism with plant tissue ('primo-interaction') described as not yet understood
• Global -omics approaches (RNA-seq, proteomics, metabolomics, DNA methylation) described as still too few in the literature

{
    "study_type": "review",
    "exposure": {
        "band": "RF",
        "source": "wireless and other communication devices",
        "frequency_mhz": null,
        "sar_wkg": null,
        "duration": null
    },
    "population": "Plants (various species; mentions model plants such as Arabidopsis, tomato, wheat, maize)",
    "sample_size": null,
    "outcomes": [
        "Plant development and growth (morphological changes)",
        "Physiological responses",
        "Biochemical responses (including ROS metabolism)",
        "Molecular responses (gene expression, enzymatic activities)",
        "Cytosolic calcium changes",
        "Secondary metabolites",
        "ATP-related responses"
    ],
    "main_findings": "This review critically appraises reports on radiofrequency EMF radiation effects on plants, noting that published findings are sometimes contradictory and may depend on exposure conditions (power density, frequency, duration) and species. It proposes that increased ROS metabolism and cytosolic calcium may be key early events leading to downstream cellular responses (e.g., gene expression/enzymatic activity changes) and immediate or delayed growth effects, and argues there is evidence to consider RF-EMF as an environmental signal integrated into plant development.",
    "effect_direction": "mixed",
    "limitations": [
        "Reports described as sometimes contradictory",
        "Effects suggested to be highly dependent on exposure conditions (power density, frequency, duration) and species-specific",
        "Need for standardized exposure procedures for model plants and common frequencies",
        "Initial interaction mechanism with plant tissue ('primo-interaction') described as not yet understood",
        "Global -omics approaches (RNA-seq, proteomics, metabolomics, DNA methylation) described as still too few in the literature"
    ],
    "evidence_strength": "low",
    "confidence": 0.7399999999999999911182158029987476766109466552734375,
    "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
    "keywords": [
        "radiofrequency electromagnetic field radiation",
        "EMF-r",
        "plants",
        "ROS",
        "cytosolic calcium",
        "gene expression",
        "enzymatic activities",
        "morphological changes",
        "environmental signals",
        "exposure conditions",
        "standardization"
    ],
    "suggested_hubs": []
}

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