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The frequency-dependent effect of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field and mechanical vibration at infrasound frequency on the growth, division and motility of Escherichia coli K-12

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Abstract

The aim of this work was to investigate the frequency-dependent effects of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) and mechanical vibration at infrasound frequency (MV at IS frequency or MV) on growth and development of Escherichia coli K-12, by using classical microbiological (counting colony forming units), isotopic, spectrophotometric and electronmicroscopic methods. The frequency-dependent effects of MV and ELF-EMF were shown that they could either stimulate or inhibit the growth and the division of microbes depending on the periods following exposure. However, the mechanism through which the MV and ELF-EMF effects affect the bacteria cell is not clear yet. It was suggested that the aqua medium could serve a target through which the biological effect of MV and ELF-EMF on microbes could be realized. To check this hypothesis, the frequency-dependent effects (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 Hz) of both MV and ELF-EMF on the bacterial growth, division and their motility in cases of exposure, the preliminary treated microbes-free medium and microbes containing medium were studied. Both MV and ELF-EMF effect on microbes have frequency and post-exposure period duration-dependent characters. The [3 H]-thymidine involving experiments shown that EMF at 4 Hz exposure has pronounced stimulation effect on cell proliferation while 4 Hz MV has inhibition effect. But at 8–10 Hz, the both EMF and MV have inhibitory effects on cell proliferation. It is suggested that 4 and 8 Hz EMF have different biological effects on microbes.

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Acknowledgments

We thank to Ms. Anna Abrahamyan for her technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UNESCO Chair in Life Sciences International Postgraduate Educational Center, 31 Acharyan St., 0040, Yerevan, Armenia

    Varsik Martirosyan & Sinerik Ayrapetyan

  2. Institutes of Microbiology of SPC Armbiotechnology, NAS of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia

    Levon Markosyan & Hrachik Hovhanesyan

  3. Institute of Molecular Biology, Yerevan, Armenia

    Karlen Hovnanyan

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  1. Varsik Martirosyan
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  2. Levon Markosyan
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  3. Hrachik Hovhanesyan
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  4. Karlen Hovnanyan
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  5. Sinerik Ayrapetyan
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Correspondence to Sinerik Ayrapetyan.

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Martirosyan, V., Markosyan, L., Hovhanesyan, H. et al. The frequency-dependent effect of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field and mechanical vibration at infrasound frequency on the growth, division and motility of Escherichia coli K-12 . Environmentalist 32, 157–165 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-011-9365-2

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