Magnetic field effects on the physiologic and molecular pathway of wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) germination and seedling growth

Abstract

The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of the magnetic field on seed germination percentage and wheat seedlings, such as root and stem length, water content, photosynthetic pigments, antioxidants, phenols, flavonoids, and gene tests. Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum Desf. seeds were exposed to a magnetic field with an induction of 12.5 and 25 mT for 6 days with 15 and 30 min exposure times per day. The magnetic field effect increased the water, chlorophyll, and carotenoid contents while reducing the germination percentage and root length. Significant associations were found between gene expression and related parameters, especially under 25 mT magnetic induction for 30 min. Further research could contribute to explaining the relationship between the influence of the applied magnetic field and the qRT-PCR genes (EF1, PhAL, Rubisco, CBP4) and changes occurring in wheat seedling growth. The variability in wheat genotypes could be caused by the applied magnetic field with different magnetic induction and exposure times. In magnetic field induction of 25 mT for a 30 min exposure time, changes were observed in all genes compared to the control group. The findings have different and unexpected implications that germination can be regulated by gene expression and related enzymes, associated with induction, exposure method, and duration of the magnetic field.