Exposure to a 900 MHz electromagnetic field induces a response of the honey bee organism on the level of enzyme activity and the expression of stress-related genes.

PloS one · 2023 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 5797

Honey bees exposed to 900 MHz EMF at 12, 28, or 61 V/m for 15 min, 1 h, or 3 h showed a detectable response at the level of hemolymph enzyme activity and expression of stress-related genes compared with unexposed controls. The authors state the response was s…

Study snapshot

PublicationPloS one · 2023

Study typeanimal

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

There are many artificial sources of radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) in the environment, with a value between 100 MHz and 6 GHz. The most frequently used signal is with a frequency of around 900 MHz. The direction of these changes positively impacts the quality of life, enabling easy communication from almost anywhere in the world. All living organisms in the world feel the effects of the electromagnetic field on them. The observations regarding the influence of a RF-EMF on honey bees, describing the general impact of RF-EMF on the colony and/or behavior of individual bees, such as reduction in the number of individuals in colonies, extended homing flight duration, decrease in breeding efficiency, changes in flight direction (movement of bees toward the areas affected by RF-EMF), increase in the intensity and frequency of sounds characteristic for those announcing the impending danger. In this work, we describe the changes in the levels of some of the stress-related markers in honey bees exposed to varying intensities and duration of RF-EMF. One-day-old honeybee worker bees were used for the study. The bees were randomly assigned to 9 experimental groups which were exposed to the following 900 MHz EMF intensities: 12 V/m, 28 V/m, and 61 V/m for 15 min, 1 h and 3 h. The control group was not exposed to the RF-EMF. Each experimental group consisted of 10 cages in which were 100 bees. Then, hemolymph was collected from the bees, in which the activity was assessed AST, ALT, ALP, GGTP, and level of nonenzymatic antioxidants albumin, creatinine, uric acid, and urea. Bees were also collected for the analysis of rps5, ppo, hsp10, hsp70, hsp90, and vitellogenin gene expression. Our study shows that exposure to a 900 MHz electromagnetic field induces a response in the honey bees that can be detected in the level of enzyme activity and the expression of stress-related genes. The response is similar to the one previously described as a result of exposition to UVB irradiation and most likely cannot be attributed to increased temperature.

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeanimal

Effect directionharm

PopulationOne-day-old honeybee worker bees

Sample size9000

ExposureRF · 900 MHz · 15 min, 1 h, and 3 h

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Hemolymph enzyme activity (AST, ALT, ALP, GGTP)
Hemolymph nonenzymatic antioxidants (albumin, creatinine, uric acid, urea)
Gene expression (rps5, ppo, hsp10, hsp70, hsp90, vitellogenin)
Stress-related markers (enzyme activity and stress-related gene expression)

Limitations

Specific directions/magnitudes of changes in enzymes, antioxidants, and gene expression are not provided in the abstract.
Exposure metric is given as electric field strength (V/m) rather than SAR or absorbed dose; dosimetry details are not described in the abstract.
Short-term exposures only (up to 3 hours); longer-term or colony-level outcomes are not assessed in the abstract.
Study uses caged, one-day-old worker bees; generalizability to other life stages or field conditions is unclear from the abstract.

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": 900,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "15 min, 1 h, and 3 h"
  },
  "population": "One-day-old honeybee worker bees",
  "sample_size": 9000,
  "outcomes": [
    "Hemolymph enzyme activity (AST, ALT, ALP, GGTP)",
    "Hemolymph nonenzymatic antioxidants (albumin, creatinine, uric acid, urea)",
    "Gene expression (rps5, ppo, hsp10, hsp70, hsp90, vitellogenin)",
    "Stress-related markers (enzyme activity and stress-related gene expression)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Honey bees exposed to 900 MHz EMF at 12, 28, or 61 V/m for 15 min, 1 h, or 3 h showed a detectable response at the level of hemolymph enzyme activity and expression of stress-related genes compared with unexposed controls. The authors state the response was similar to that previously described for UVB irradiation and most likely not attributable to increased temperature.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Specific directions/magnitudes of changes in enzymes, antioxidants, and gene expression are not provided in the abstract.",
    "Exposure metric is given as electric field strength (V/m) rather than SAR or absorbed dose; dosimetry details are not described in the abstract.",
    "Short-term exposures only (up to 3 hours); longer-term or colony-level outcomes are not assessed in the abstract.",
    "Study uses caged, one-day-old worker bees; generalizability to other life stages or field conditions is unclear from the abstract."
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "honey bee",
    "Apis mellifera",
    "900 MHz",
    "RF-EMF",
    "radiofrequency",
    "enzyme activity",
    "AST",
    "ALT",
    "ALP",
    "GGTP",
    "antioxidants",
    "stress-related genes",
    "hsp70",
    "hsp90",
    "vitellogenin",
    "electric field strength",
    "V/m"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "animal-studies",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Experimental RF-EMF exposure study in honey bees with biochemical and gene-expression endpoints."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285522
PubMed: 37172069

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