A possible role for extra-cellular ATP in plant responses to high frequency, low amplitude electromagnetic field

David Roux (1) , Catherine Faure (2) , Pierre Bonnet (3) , Sébastien Girard (3) , Gérard G. Ledoigt (2) , Eric Davies (4) , Michel Gendraud (5) , Françoise Paladian (6) , Alain Vian (5)

1 UMR Qualisud - Démarche intégrée pour l'obtention d'aliments de qualité
2 ERTAC - Physiologie et génétique végétales
3 IP - Institut Pascal
4 NC State - North Carolina State University [Raleigh]
5 PIAF - Laboratoire de Physique et Physiologie Intégratives de l'Arbre Fruitier et Forestier
6 LASMEA - Laboratoire des sciences et matériaux pour l'électronique et d'automatique

In parallel to evoking the accumulation of stress-related transcripts, exposure to low level 900 MHz EMF affected the levels of ATP, the main energy molecule of the cell. Its concentration dropped rapidly (27% after 30 min) in response to EMF exposure, along with a 18% decrease in the adenylate energy charge (AEC), a good marker of cell energy status. One could interpret this decrease in ATP and AEC in a classical way, i.e., as the result of an increase in cellular energy usage, but recent work brings exciting new insights in pointing out a signalling function for ATP, especially in the stress physiology context where it could trigger both reactive oxygen species and calcium movement (this latter being involved in plant responses to EMF exposure). In this addendum, we discuss our results within this new perspective for ATP function.

Mots clés: EMF; ATP; eATP; tomato; stress

Domaines: Biologie végétale

David Roux, Catherine Faure, Pierre Bonnet, Sébastien Girard, Gérard G. Ledoigt, et al.. A possible role for extra-cellular ATP in plant responses to high frequency, low amplitude electromagnetic field. Plant Signaling and Behavior, 2008, 3 (6), pp. 383-385. ⟨10.4161/psb.3.6.5385⟩. ⟨hal-01614526⟩