Electrostimulation of yeast proliferation

Changes of cationic transport in AtCAX5 transformant yeast by electromagnetic field environments

The electromagnetic field (EMF) is newly considered as an exogenous environmental stimulus that is closely related to ion transportation on the cellular membrane, maintaining the internal ionic homeostasis. Cation transports of Ca²⁺ and other metal ions, Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Mn²⁺were studied in terms of the external Ca²⁺ stress, [Ca²⁺]_ext, and exposure to the physical EMF. A specific yeast strain K667 was used for controlling CAX5 (cation/H⁺ exchanger) expression. Culture samples were exposed to 60 Hz, 0.1 mT sinusoidal or square magnetics waves, and intracellular cations of each sample were measured and analyzed. AtCAX5 transformant yeast grew normally under the metallic stress. However, the growth of the control group was significantly inhibited under the same cation concentration; 60 Hz and 0.1 mT magnetic field enhanced intracellular cation concentrations significantly as exposure time increased both in the AtCAX5 transformed yeast and in the control group. However, the AtCAX5-transformed yeast showed higher concentration of the intracellular cations than the control group under the same exposure EMF. AtCAX5-transformed yeasts displayed an increment in [Ca²⁺]_int, [K⁺]_int, [Na⁺]_int, and [Zn²⁺]_int concentration under the presence of both sinusoidal and square-waved EMF stresses compared to the control group, which shows that AtCAX5 expressed in the vacuole play an important role in maintaining the homeostasis of intracellular cations. These findings could be utilized in the cultivation of the crops which were resistant to excessive exogenous ions or in the production of biomass containing a large proportion of ions for nutritional food or in the bioremediation process in metal-polluted environments.

Electromagnetic biostimulation of living cultures for biotechnology, biofuel and bioenergy applications

The surge of interest in bioenergy has been marked with increasing efforts in research and development to identify new sources of biomass and to incorporate cutting-edge biotechnology to improve efficiency and increase yields. It is evident that various microorganisms will play an integral role in the development of this newly emerging industry, such as yeast for ethanol and Escherichia coli for fine chemical fermentation. However, it appears that microalgae have become the most promising prospect for biomass production due to their ability to grow fast, produce large quantities of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins, thrive in poor quality waters, sequester and recycle carbon dioxide from industrial flue gases and remove pollutants from industrial, agricultural and municipal wastewaters. In an attempt to better understand and manipulate microorganisms for optimum production capacity, many researchers have investigated alternative methods for stimulating their growth and metabolic behavior. One such novel approach is the use of electromagnetic fields for the stimulation of growth and metabolic cascades and controlling biochemical pathways. An effort has been made in this review to consolidate the information on the current status of biostimulation research to enhance microbial growth and metabolism using electromagnetic fields. It summarizes information on the biostimulatory effects on growth and other biological processes to obtain insight regarding factors and dosages that lead to the stimulation and also what kind of processes have been reportedly affected. Diverse mechanistic theories and explanations for biological effects of electromagnetic fields on intra and extracellular environment have been discussed. The foundations of biophysical interactions such as bioelectromagnetic and biophotonic communication and organization within living systems are expounded with special consideration for spatiotemporal aspects of electromagnetic topology, leading to the potential of multipolar electromagnetic systems. The future direction for the use of biostimulation using bioelectromagnetic, biophotonic and electrochemical methods have been proposed for biotechnology industries in general with emphasis on an holistic biofuel system encompassing production of algal biomass, its processing and conversion to biofuel.

Influence of ELF Sinusoidal Electromagnetic Fields on Proliferation and Metabolite Yield of Fungi

The response of mycelium proliferation in 12 strains of fungi were tested by sinusoidal ELF 50 Hz electromagnetic field treatment in the range B = 0.6-10 mT over 10 days. The ratio of experiment/control indicated three types of proliferation changes: a) no significant change, b) a strong decrease down to E/C = 0.2, c) a maximization of mycelium diameter by treatment at 5-7 mT. According to these results, effects can be produced noninvasively by varying either magnetic intensities or time of treatment. As yet, systematic bioelectromagnetic research using sinusoidal electromagnetic fields (SEMF)-on fermentation of fungi is still in its initial stages.

The effects of medium-strength electric impulses on human blood

Leukocyte subsets, total leukocyte isolates or full blood samples were subjected to medium-strength square-wave electric impulses (100 V/cm field force, 5 ms duration). On the surface of the leukocytes, the expressions of several markers (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD11a, CD11b and ICAM-1) were determined in order to study the influence of pulsed ionic currents on different aspects of the cellular immune response. Large individual differences were observed among randomly chosen healthy donors, both in the initial expression rate and in the response patterns of different antigens. As a general conclusion, it can be stated that electric impulses with the above parameters activate the state of immune response alertness of human leukocytes. Changes in the activities of several enzymes in the serum in response to electric impulses were also tested in order to examine the feasibility of ex vivo electric treatment of human blood for the establishment of an antiviral and immune activated condition. Slightly elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels point to a possibility of enhanced haemolysis, while the lack of an elevation in the membrane-bound peroxidase activity indicates the absence of haemolysis. Significant rises were detected in the serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. Since most ex vivo blood manipulations are characterised by the appearance of superoxide radicals in the serum, a SOD activity enhancement is considered beneficial in these cases. A mild, but significant reduction in the blood clotting time indicates that electric treatment of human blood should be performed with special attention to thrombosis-prone conditions, and adequate precautions and countermeasures should be introduced. Although wider examinations are required before this method can be fully recommended, ex vivo blood treatment with medium-strength electric impulses seems to be a promising adjuvant course for the establishment of acute immune potentiation and an antiviral state in patients undergoing dialysis treatment.

Mycotoxins, fungus and 'electrohypersensitivity'

'Electrohypersensitivity' is often explained as a psychological syndrome. Our modern environment contains a lot of different substances and some of them are toxic. Mycotoxins are types of toxins that are biologically very active and that affect living organisms. Mycotoxins and fungi capable of producing toxins have been detected in ventilation systems, water damage and in foodstuff. Many of those displaying symptoms caused by electromagnetic fields have fungus infections or have been living in fungus-contaminated environments for long periods. In animal studies mycotoxins have shown the same effects as those seen in the 'electrohypersensitivity' syndrome. Phototoxic reactions are well known in veterinary medicine and in medical science, so the question is whether the 'electrohypersensitivity' syndrome is caused by 'phototoxic' reactions?

Problems of weak electromagnetic field effects in cell biology

Electrostimulations of cells by weak electric or electromagnetic LF and HF-fields are applied widely today; capacitively or inductively coupled, however, they are seldom applied for cell-free and membrane-free solutions of enzymes. First, the detection of a response of the cells ('electrical window') is a prerequisite for testing at least three parameters: frequency, amplitude and treatment time, besides reproducible biological conditions. The 'state-of-the-art' of this fast developing direction of bioelectrochemistry can be characterized in the following way: the results from several laboratories of (a) cell proliferation, (b) ion transport, (c) activation of several enzymes (Na,K-ATPase), (d) increase of certain protein concentrations (heat-shock protein hsp70) are more or less in agreement. Unfortunately, there are discrepancies between no less than 7 labs in the gene expression of c-myc, c-fos histone 2B, -actin, URA-3 and others, especially for low fields (< 0.05 mT), e.g., in HL60 cells! The reason why seems to be: (1) differences in the most suitable isolation procedure, (2) interferences in the case of too low magnetic flux and (3) too small ranges of parameters have been measured. Today, three open problems must be pointed out: (A) What is the physiological causality for specific 'electrical windows' and their positive or negative efficacy? (B) What are the biochemical targets for either magnetic or electric fields or both? (C) What is the influence of electrical and (or) thermal noise on field efficiency?