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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Geomagnetic Field (Gmf) and Plant Evolution: Investigating the Effects of Gmf Reversal on Arabidopsis thaliana Development and Gene Expression
Published on: November 30, 2015
Low-frequency electromagnetic fields induce a stress effect upon higher plants, as evident by the universal stress
Edna Ben-Izhak Monselise1, Abraham H Parola, Daniel Kost
1Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. bened@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
Abstract:
15N NMR analysis reveals alanine production in Duckweed plants exposed to low intensity sinusoidally varying magnetic fields (SVMF) at 60 and 100Hz, and fed by 15N-labeled ammonium chloride. Alanine does not accumulate in the absence of SVMF. Addition of vitamin C, a radical scavenger, reduced alanine production by 82%, indicating the roll of free radicals in the process. Alanine accumulation in plants and animals in response to exposure to a variety of stress conditions, including SVMF, is a general phenomenon. It is proposed that alanine is a universal first stress signal expressed by cells.
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