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Panda DK, Das DP, Behera SK, Dhal NK. Review on the impact of cell phone radiation effects on green plants. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2024; 196:565. [PMID: 38773047 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-024-12623-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
The aim of this review is to assess the impact of cell phone radiation effects on green plants. Rapid progress in networking and communication systems has introduced frequency- and amplitude-modulated technologies to the world with higher allowed bands and greater speed by using high-powered radio generators, which facilitate high definition connectivity, rapid transfer of larger data files, and quick multiple accesses. These cause frequent exposure of cellular radiation to the biological world from a number of sources. Key factors like a range of frequencies, time durations, power densities, and electric fields were found to have differential impacts on the growth and development of green plants. As far as the effects on green plants are concerned in this review, alterations in their morphological characteristics like overall growth, canopy density, and pigmentation to physiological variations like chlorophyll fluorescence and change in membrane potential etc. have been found to be affected by cellular radiation. On the other hand, elevated oxidative status of the cell, macromolecular damage, and lipid peroxidation have been found frequently. On the chromosomal level, micronuclei formation, spindle detachments, and increased mitotic indexes etc. have been noticed. Transcription factors were found to be overexpressed in many cases due to the cellular radiation impact, which shows effects at the molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dinesh Kumar Panda
- Environment and Sustainability Department, CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, RRL Campus, Sachivalaya MargAcharya Vihar, Bhubaneswar, 751013, Odisha, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
| | - Debi Prasad Das
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
- Project Engineering and Instrumentation Department, CSIR-Institutes of Minerals and Materials Technology, Sachivalaya Marg , RRL Campus, Acharya Vihar, Bhubaneswar, 751013, Odisha, India
| | - Santosh Kumar Behera
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
- Project Engineering and Instrumentation Department, CSIR-Institutes of Minerals and Materials Technology, Sachivalaya Marg , RRL Campus, Acharya Vihar, Bhubaneswar, 751013, Odisha, India
| | - Nabin Kumar Dhal
- Environment and Sustainability Department, CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, RRL Campus, Sachivalaya MargAcharya Vihar, Bhubaneswar, 751013, Odisha, India.
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India.
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Handa AP, Vian A, Singh HP, Kohli RK, Kaur S, Batish DR. Effect of 2850 MHz electromagnetic field radiation on the early growth, antioxidant activity, and secondary metabolite profile of red and green cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.). ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024; 31:7465-7480. [PMID: 38159189 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-31434-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
The proliferation of wireless and other telecommunications equipment brought about by technological advances in the communication industry has substantially increased the radiofrequency radiation levels in the environment. The emphasis is, therefore, placed on investigating the potential impacts of radiofrequency radiation on biota. In this work, the impact of 2850 MHz electromagnetic field radiation (EMF-r) on early development, photosynthetic pigments, and the metabolic profile of two Brassica oleracea L. cultivars (red and green cabbage) was studied. On a daily basis for seven days, seedlings were exposed to homogeneous EMF-r for one, two, and four hours, and observations were carried out at 0-h, 1-h, and 24-h following the final dose. Irrespective of the duration of harvest, exposure to EMF-r resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in both root (from 6.3 cm to 4.0 cm in red; 6.1 cm to 3.8 cm in green) and shoot lengths (from 5.3 cm to ⁓3.1 cm in red; 5.1 cm to 3.1 cm in green), as well as a decrease in biomass (from 2.9 mg to ⁓1.1 mg in red; 2.5 to 0.9 mg in green) of the seedlings when compared to control samples. Likewise, the chlorophyll (from 6.09 to ⁓4.94 mg g-1 d.wt in red; 7.37 to 6.05 mg g-1 d.wt. in green) and carotenoid (from 1.49 to 1.19 mg g-1 d.wt. in red; 1.14 to 0.51 mg g-1 d.wt. in green) contents of both cultivars decreased significantly when compared to the control. Additionally, the contents of phenolic (28.99‒45.52 mg GAE g-1 in red; 25.49‒33.76 mg GAE g-1 in green), flavonoid (21.7‒31.8 mg QE g-1 in red; 12.1‒19.0 mg QE g-1 in green), and anthocyanin (28.8‒43.6 mg per 100 g d.wt. in red; 1.1‒2.6 mg per 100 g d.wt. in green) in both red and green cabbage increased with exposure duration. EMF-r produced oxidative stress in the exposed samples of both cabbage cultivars, as demonstrated by dose-dependent increases in the total antioxidant activity (1.33‒2.58 mM AAE in red; 1.29‒2.22 mM AAE in green), DPPH activity (12.96‒78.33% in red; 9.62‒67.73% in green), H2O2 content (20.0‒77.15 nM g-1 f.wt. in red; 14.28‒64.29 nM g-1 f.wt. in green), and MDA content (0.20‒0.61 nM g-1 f.wt. in red; 0.18‒0.51 nM g-1 f.wt. in green) compared to their control counterparts. The activity of antioxidant enzymes, i.e., superoxide dismutases (3.83‒8.10 EU mg-1 protein in red; 4.19‒7.35 EU mg-1 protein in green), catalases (1.81‒7.44 EU mg-1 protein in red; 1.04‒6.24 EU mg-1 protein in green), and guaiacol peroxidases (14.37‒47.85 EU mg-1 protein in red; 12.30‒42.79 EU mg-1 protein in green), increased significantly compared to their control counterparts. The number of polyphenols in unexposed and EMF-r exposed samples of red cabbage was significantly different. The study concludes that exposure to 2850 MHz EMF-r affects the early development of cabbage seedlings, modifies their photosynthetic pigments, alters polyphenol content, and impairs their oxidative metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amrit Pal Handa
- Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160 014, India
| | - Alain Vian
- IRHS, Université d'Angers, Agrocampus-Ouest, INRA, SFR 4207 QuaSaV, 49071, 13, Beaucouzé, France
| | - Harminder Pal Singh
- Department of Environment Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160 014, India
| | - Ravinder Kumar Kohli
- Amity University, Sector 82A, IT City, International Airport Road, Mohali, 140 306, India
| | - Shalinder Kaur
- Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160 014, India.
| | - Daizy R Batish
- Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160 014, India
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Tran NT, Jokic L, Keller J, Geier JU, Kaldenhoff R. Impacts of Radio-Frequency Electromagnetic Field (RF-EMF) on Lettuce ( Lactuca sativa)-Evidence for RF-EMF Interference with Plant Stress Responses. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:1082. [PMID: 36903942 PMCID: PMC10005510 DOI: 10.3390/plants12051082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The increased use of wireless technology causes a significant exposure increase for all living organisms to radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF). This comprises bacteria, animals, and also plants. Unfortunately, our understanding of how RF-EMF influences plants and plant physiology remains inadequate. In this study, we examined the effects of RF-EMF radiation on lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa) in both indoor and outdoor environments using the frequency ranges of 1890-1900 MHz (DECT) at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (Wi-Fi). Under greenhouse conditions, RF-EMF exposure had only a minor impact on fast chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics and no effect on plant flowering time. In contrast, lettuce plants exposed to RF-EMF in the field showed a significant and systemic decrease in photosynthetic efficiency and accelerated flowering time compared to the control groups. Gene expression analysis revealed significant down-regulation of two stress-related genes in RF-EMF-exposed plants: violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE) and zeaxanthin epoxidase (ZEP). RF-EMF-exposed plants had lower Photosystem II's maximal photochemical quantum yield (FV/FM) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) than control plants under light stress conditions. In summary, our results imply that RF-EMF might interfere with plant stress responses and reduced plant stress tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nam Trung Tran
- Applied Plant Sciences, Department of Biology, Technical University Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Luca Jokic
- Applied Plant Sciences, Department of Biology, Technical University Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | | | | | - Ralf Kaldenhoff
- Applied Plant Sciences, Department of Biology, Technical University Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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Khan MD, Ali S, Azizullah A, Shuijin Z. Use of various biomarkers to explore the effects of GSM and GSM-like radiations on flowering plants. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2018; 25:24611-24628. [PMID: 30030756 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-018-2734-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/05/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Since last decade, GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) technology has evidently revolutionized our digital world. It uses electromagnetic frequency radiations (EMFr), ranging 850-1900 MHz, and is being composed of three main units (i.e., mobile station, access and core networks). GSM technology has significant impact on our daily life as revealed by increased number of mobile users in the world over. The main goal of the present review is to critically revisit the available literature regarding the responses of various flowering plant species towards GSM and GSM-like radiations using physiological, biochemical, molecular and cytological markers using in vitro approaches. Different monocots (tomato, onion, wheat and maize etc.) and dicots (pulses, mustard and flax) have been studied using both GSM mobile phone and GSM simulators. Different studies revealed overall reductions in germination, root-shoot lengths, dry weight, in both dose and time-dependent manners. However, there could be found incline in various parameters at biochemical and molecular levels. Furthermore, there could be found disturbances at cytological levels upon exposure of roots of onion to EMFr radiations. The overall literature review shows the negative effects of GSM and GSM-like radiations on targeted plant species. In order to alleviate the stressful effects of EMFr radiations on plants, in vivo studies need to be done using various cost-effective approaches such as use of biochar and various organic amendments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Daud Khan
- Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat, Pakistan.
- Institute of Crop Science, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture and Biotechnolgy, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
| | - Shafaqat Ali
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Government College University, Allama Iqbal Road, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
| | - Azizullah Azizullah
- Department of Botany, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat, 26000, Pakistan
| | - Zhu Shuijin
- Institute of Crop Science, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture and Biotechnolgy, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
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Tang C, Yang C, Yu H, Tian S, Huang X, Wang W, Cai P. Electromagnetic Radiation Disturbed the Photosynthesis of Microcystis aeruginosa at the Proteomics Level. Sci Rep 2018; 8:479. [PMID: 29323219 PMCID: PMC5764990 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18953-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2017] [Accepted: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Photosynthesis of Microcystis aeruginosa under Electromagnetic Radiation (1.8 GHz, 40 V/m) was studied by using the proteomics. A total of 30 differentially expressed proteins, including 15 up-regulated and 15 down-regulated proteins, were obtained in this study. The differentially expressed proteins were significantly enriched in the photosynthesis pathway, in which the protein expression levels of photosystems II cytochrome b559 α subunit, cytochrome C550, PsbY, and F-type ATP synthase (a, b) decreased. Our results indicated that electromagnetic radiation altered the photosynthesis-related protein expression levels, and aimed at the function of photosynthetic pigments, photosystems II potential activity, photosynthetic electron transport process, and photosynthetic phosphorylation process of M. aeruginosa. Based on the above evidence, that photoreaction system may be deduced as a target of electromagnetic radiation on the photosynthesis in cyanobacteria; the photoreaction system of cyanobacteria is a hypothetical "shared target effector" that responds to light and electromagnetic radiation; moreover, electromagnetic radiation does not act on the functional proteins themselves but their expression processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Tang
- Physical Environment Group, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, P.R. China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, P.R. China.,Xiamen Key Laboratory of Physical Environment, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, P.R. China
| | - Chuanjun Yang
- Physical Environment Group, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, P.R. China.,Xiamen Key Laboratory of Physical Environment, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, P.R. China
| | - Hui Yu
- Physical Environment Group, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, P.R. China.,Xiamen Key Laboratory of Physical Environment, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, P.R. China
| | - Shen Tian
- Physical Environment Group, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, P.R. China.,Xiamen Key Laboratory of Physical Environment, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, P.R. China
| | - Xiaomei Huang
- Physical Environment Group, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, P.R. China.,University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, P.R. China.,Xiamen Key Laboratory of Physical Environment, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, P.R. China
| | - Weiyi Wang
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, P.R. China.,Xiamen Key Laboratory of Physical Environment, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, P.R. China
| | - Peng Cai
- Physical Environment Group, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, P.R. China. .,Xiamen Key Laboratory of Physical Environment, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, P.R. China.
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Halgamuge MN. Review: Weak radiofrequency radiation exposure from mobile phone radiation on plants. Electromagn Biol Med 2016; 36:213-235. [PMID: 27650031 DOI: 10.1080/15368378.2016.1220389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
AIM The aim of this article was to explore the hypothesis that non-thermal, weak, radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) have an effect on living plants. SUBJECT AND METHODS In this study, we performed an analysis of the data extracted from the 45 peer-reviewed scientific publications (1996-2016) describing 169 experimental observations to detect the physiological and morphological changes in plants due to the non-thermal RF-EMF effects from mobile phone radiation. Twenty-nine different species of plants were considered in this work. RESULTS Our analysis demonstrates that the data from a substantial amount of the studies on RF-EMFs from mobile phones show physiological and/or morphological effects (89.9%, p < 0.001). Additionally, our analysis of the results from these reported studies demonstrates that the maize, roselle, pea, fenugreek, duckweeds, tomato, onions and mungbean plants seem to be very sensitive to RF-EMFs. Our findings also suggest that plants seem to be more responsive to certain frequencies, especially the frequencies between (i) 800 and 1500 MHz (p < 0.0001), (ii) 1500 and 2400 MHz (p < 0.0001) and (iii) 3500 and 8000 MHz (p = 0.0161). CONCLUSION The available literature on the effect of RF-EMFs on plants to date observed the significant trend of radiofrequency radiation influence on plants. Hence, this study provides new evidence supporting our hypothesis. Nonetheless, this endorses the need for more experiments to observe the effects of RF-EMFs, especially for the longer exposure durations, using the whole organisms. The above observation agrees with our earlier study, in that it supported that it is not a well-grounded method to characterize biological effects without considering the exposure duration. Nevertheless, none of these findings can be directly associated with human; however, on the other hand, this cannot be excluded, as it can impact the human welfare and health, either directly or indirectly, due to their complexity and varied effects (calcium metabolism, stress proteins, etc.). This study should be useful as a reference for researchers conducting epidemiological studies and the long-term experiments, using whole organisms, to observe the effects of RF-EMFs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malka N Halgamuge
- a Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering , The University of Melbourne , Parkville , Victoria , Australia
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Kumar A, Singh HP, Batish DR, Kaur S, Kohli RK. EMF radiations (1800 MHz)-inhibited early seedling growth of maize (Zea mays) involves alterations in starch and sucrose metabolism. PROTOPLASMA 2016; 253:1043-1049. [PMID: 26277350 DOI: 10.1007/s00709-015-0863-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2015] [Accepted: 07/18/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The present study investigated the impact of 1800-MHz electromagnetic field radiations (EMF-r), widely used in mobile communication, on the growth and activity of starch-, sucrose-, and phosphate-hydrolyzing enzymes in Zea mays seedlings. We exposed Z. mays to modulated continuous wave homogenous EMF-r at specific absorption rate (SAR) of 1.69±0.0 × 10(-1) W kg(-1) for ½, 1, 2, and 4 h. The analysis of seedlings after 7 days revealed that short-term exposure did not induce any significant change, while longer exposure of 4 h caused significant growth and biochemical alterations. There was a reduction in the root and coleoptile length with more pronounced effect on coleoptile growth (23 % reduction on 4-h exposure). The contents of photosynthetic pigments and total carbohydrates declined by 13 and 18 %, respectively, in 4-h exposure treatments compared to unexposed control. The activity of starch-hydrolyzing enzymes-α- and β-amylases-increased by ∼92 and 94 %, respectively, at an exposure duration of 4 h, over that in the control. In response to 4-h exposure treatment, the activity of sucrolytic enzymes-acid invertases and alkaline invertases-was increased by 88 and 266 %, whereas the specific activities of phosphohydrolytic enzymes (acid phosphatases and alkaline phosphatases) showed initial increase up to ≤2 h duration and then declined at >2 h exposure duration. The study concludes that EMF-r-inhibited seedling growth of Z. mays involves interference with starch and sucrose metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arvind Kumar
- Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160 014, India
| | - Harminder Pal Singh
- Department of Environment Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160 014, India.
| | - Daizy R Batish
- Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160 014, India
| | - Shalinder Kaur
- Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160 014, India
| | - Ravinder Kumar Kohli
- Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160 014, India
- Central University of Punjab, City Campus, Mansa Road, Bathinda, 151 001, Punjab, India
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Plant Responses to High Frequency Electromagnetic Fields. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2016; 2016:1830262. [PMID: 26981524 PMCID: PMC4769733 DOI: 10.1155/2016/1830262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2015] [Accepted: 01/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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.
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