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Using model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae to evaluate the effects of ELF-MF and RF-EMF exposure on global gene expression.

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Chen G, Lu D, Chiang H, Leszczynski D, Xu Z. · 2012

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Yeast cells showed no confirmed gene expression changes after ELF-MF exposure, and only a very small number of genes responded to RF-EMF.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers used the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to study how exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields and radiofrequency EMF affects gene expression. Yeast cells were exposed for 6 hours to either 0.4 mT 50 Hz ELF-MF or 1800 MHz RF-EMF at a specific absorption rate of 4.7 W/kg. The study found no confirmed gene expression changes from ELF-MF exposure, and only the expressions of SMC3 and AQY2 were confirmed as responsive to RF-EMF.

Why This Matters

Gene expression was first screened with microarrays and then checked with a more precise method called real-time RT-PCR. For RF-EMF, three genes showed expression changes in the opposite direction from what the microarray suggested. The researchers stated that the possible biological consequences of the gene expression changes induced by RF-EMF await further investigation.

Exposure Details

SAR
4.7 W/kg
Source/Device
1800 MHz RF-EMF
Exposure Duration
6h

Exposure Context

This study used 4.7 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):

Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 4.7 W/kgExtreme Concern - 0.1 W/kgFCC Limit - 1.6 W/kgEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)This level is 3 times the FCC limit
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 1.80 GHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 1.80 GHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

The potential health hazard of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) continues to cause public concern. However, the possibility of biological and health effects of exposure to EMF remains controversial and their biophysical mechanisms are unknown.

In the present study, we used Saccharomyces cerevisiae to identify genes responding to extremely low...

We were unable to confirm microarray-detected changes in three of the ELF-MF responsive candidate ge...

In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that the yeast cells did not alter gene expression in response to 50 Hz ELF-MF and that the response to RF-EMF is limited to only a very small number of genes. The possible biological consequences of the gene expression changes induced by RF-EMF await further investigation.

Cite This Study
Chen G, Lu D, Chiang H, Leszczynski D, Xu Z. (2012). Using model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae to evaluate the effects of ELF-MF and RF-EMF exposure on global gene expression. Bioelectromagnetics. 2012 Apr 9. doi: 10.1002/bem.21724.
Show BibTeX
@article{g_2012_using_model_organism_saccharomyces_1,
  author = {Chen G and Lu D and Chiang H and Leszczynski D and Xu Z.},
  title = {Using model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae to evaluate the effects of ELF-MF and RF-EMF exposure on global gene expression.},
  year = {2012},
  doi = {10.1002/bem.21724},
  url = {http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bem.21724/full},
}
DOI: 10.1002/bem.21724

Cited By (26 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

The study used Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a species of yeast, as its model organism.
The results suggest that yeast cells did not alter gene expression in response to 50 Hz ELF-MF, as microarray findings could not be confirmed by RT-PCR.
Only structural maintenance of chromosomes 3 (SMC3) and aquaporin 2 (AQY2) were confirmed as RF-EMF responsive genes.
Yeast cells were exposed for 6 h to either 0.4 mT 50 Hz ELF-MF or 1800 MHz RF-EMF at a specific absorption rate of 4.7 W/kg.
The researchers stated that the possible biological consequences of the gene expression changes induced by RF-EMF await further investigation.