A study of the interaction between ELF-EMF and bacteria

Abstract

ELF-EMF, one of environmental factors, widely exists in natural world. However, the interaction between ELF-EMF and biological materials is usually neglected in the field of biological research. Very little efforts have been put forth in studying the relationship of bacteria and ELF-EMF. Here we investigated the stress reaction of Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Bacillus subtilis and OP50 cells to the stimulation of ELF-EMF. The results showed that the ELF-EMF treatment significantly decreased the colony forming efficiency of Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and OP50 and this effect may be a kind of gene-dependence effect. In addition, this study also indicated that ELF-EMF could cause significant DNA damaged. Salmonella's DNA was serious damaged in 50 Hz, 3 mT for 18 and 24 h. Moreover, short time continual stimulated, for instance, 10 and 14 h continual stimulated also caused DNA chain's broken to some extent. Continual stimulated and passage's result approved that this kind of DNA damaged could be decreased by serial passage and the damaged cause by ELF-EMF exposure might be a kind of gene toxic. © 2012 Springer-Verlag GmbH.