LOW-FREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC-FIELDS ALTER THE REPLICATION CYCLE OF MS2-BACTERIOPHAGE

The effect of exposure to 60-Hz electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on RNA c oliphage MS2 replication was studied. EMF exposure commenced when the bacterial cultures were inoculated with the phage (t = 0). In 12 exper iments in which the strength of the field was 5 G, a significant delay in phage yield was found in the EMF-exposed cultures 45-65 min after inoculation, compared with control cultures. However, the EMF did not alter the final phage concentration. Experiments at 25 G (N = 5) sugge sted that the stronger field resulted in both impeded phage replicatio n and increased phage yield. No differences between test groups were f ound in experiments involving sham-EMF exposure, thereby indicating th at the results obtained with the EMFs were not due to systematic error . It appears that MS2, which codes for only four proteins, is the simp lest biological system in which an EMF-induced effect has been demonst rated. The MS2 system is, therefore, conducive to follow-up studies ai med at understanding the level and nature of the underlying interactio n process, and perhaps to biophysical modeling of the interaction proc ess.