Physiological and Genetic Analyses of Arabidopsis Thaliana Growth Responses to Electroporation

Stress-induced effect on Arabidopsis thaliana seeds due to high-intensity electrical pulses is described. The pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment system was constructed under the concept of electroporation to deliver 10-nanosecond, 5-Hz pulse train with the energy density per pulse up to 4 kJ ·kg (-1). The analysis of the growth responses revealed that the optimal specific energy of  ∼  1 kJ · kg (-1) delivered the positive effect on the early growth with significant enhancement in the germination percentage and leaf area expansion. The same treatment energy, in addition, contributed to the higher level of the gene expression at nearly tenfold (PAD3 and PR1) compared with untreated control. Such optimistic evidences suggest that the PEF treatment may have practical applications such as to stimulate the delayed germination in preserved economical crops and should be preferred over chemical treatments due to its short-term effect.