Purpose: To assess the possibility that extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields obstruct the damage repair process, the gene conversion frequency and cell cycle kinetics in a DNA repair-proficient and nucleotide excision repair (NER)-deficient strain of diploid yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Materials and methods: DNA repair- or NER-deficient cells were irradiated with sublethal doses of ultraviolet light (UV) radiation followed by exposure to 50 Hz magnetic fields up to 30 mT for 48 h. After exposure, colony-forming ability was scored as revertants in which gene conversion had restored the functional allele of the ARG4 gene conversion hotspot. Cell cycle analysis was performed using flow cytometry.

Results: Gene conversion rate was increased by the combined exposure in DNA repair-proficient cells, whereas it remained unchanged between UV alone and the combined exposure in NER-deficient cells. The UV-induced G1 arrest was inhibited by exposure to 30 mT ELF magnetic fields in both repair-proficient and -deficient cells.

Conclusions: The results suggest that exposure to high-density (30 mT) ELF magnetic fields decreases the efficiency of NER by suppressing G1 arrest, which in turn led to enhancement of the UV-induced gene conversion.

• PMID: 14698960
• DOI full text
• PubMed
• PubTator

Reference Type

Journal Article | Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Authors

Takashima Y, Ikehata M, Miyakoshi J, Koana T

Primary Lit For

Additional Lit For

Review For