The effect of low frequency electric and magnetic fields in gene expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Low energy electric and magnetic fields (<300 Hz) induce changes in gene activities as measured by increases in some transcript levels. The present study confirms these observations and extends them from diptera and mammalian cells to yeast. It shows that the effects are gene specific, that the gene remains `on´ for a relatively short period of time, and that a refractory period is necessary before the gene can be restimulated. There is a correlation between response to such fields and to other cellular stress responses suggesting that the cell `sees´ the signal as a stress. Models to explain the interaction of EM fields with cells are discussed