Systemic response after local exposition to low amplitude HF-EMF in tomato plants

Abstract

Exposing tomato plant to low amplitude high frequency electromagnetic field results in an immediate (15-60 minutes) and strong (3-7 fold) accumulation of stress-related transcripts. These accumulations are systemic, observed in exposed organ (local response) as well as in protected tissue (distant response). Tomato mutants deficient for abscisic acid display only the local response but lack the distant one. We propose that EMF exposition evokes the genesis of an informative signal, dependant upon ABA metabolism, that is rapidly widespread through the plant.