An Upper Limit for the Effect of 60 Hz Magnetic Fields on Bioluminescence for the Photobacterium Vibrio fischeri

Abstract

Bioluminescence from Vibrio fischeri was measured in the presence and absence of 60 Hz magnetic fields. The peak value of the field was ≍1.3 mT, a value approximately 13 times the Earth′s background static field and comparable to the AC field near heavy-duty electrical equipment such as generators. The objective of this work was a search for causality between the applied magnetic field and a basic biological function at the biochemical, membrane or cellular level based on the direct linkage of bioluminescence to many of the cells mandatory functions such as enzyme (luciferase) activity, electron transport, proton translocation, iron uptake, oxidative metabolism, and cellular communication via the autoinduccr N-]3-oxohexanoyl] homoserine lactone. A variation in the activity of any one of these functions will cause a change in bioluminescence. The key result of this work is that, for a signal to noise ratio of 1:1, an effect, if present at all, must be less than 1% of the baseline level of continuously monitored bioluminescence.