The investigation of the effects of artificial 50 Hz electric field (E-field) frequency on Apis mellifera is a relatively new field of research. Since the current literature focuses mainly on short-term effects, it is unknown whether E-fields have permanent effects on bees or whether their effects can be neutralized. In this study we assessed gene expression immediately after exposure to the E-field, as well as 7 days after exposure. The aim of this work was to identify potentially dysregulated gene transcripts in honey bees that correlate with exposure time and duration to E-fields. Newly emerged bees were marked daily with a permanent marker (one color for each group). Then bees were exposed to the 50 Hz E-field with an intensity of 5.0 kV/m or 10.0 kV/m for 1–3 h. After exposure, half of the bees were analyzed for gene expression changes. The other half were transferred to a colony kept in a mini-hive. After 7 days, marked bees were collected from the mini-hive for further analysis. Six regulated transcripts were selected of transcripts involved in oxidative phosphorylation (COX5a) and transcripts involved in endocrine functions (HBG-3, ILP-1), mitochondrial inner membrane transport (TIM10), and aging (mRPL18, mRPS30). Our study showed that in Apis mellifera the expression of selected genes is altered in different ways after exposure to 50 Hz electric fields -. Most of those expression changes in Cox5a, mRPL18, mRPS30, and HGB3, were measurable 7 days after a 1–3 h exposure. These results indicate that some E-field effects may be long-term effects on honey bees due to E-field exposure, and they can be observed 7 days after exposure.

中文翻译：

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工蜂暴露于 50Hz 电场后代谢基因的表达 - 半场分析


研究人工 50 Hz 电场（E 场）频率对意大利蜜蜂的影响是一个相对较新的研究领域。由于目前的文献主要关注短期影响，因此尚不清楚电场是否对蜜蜂具有永久性影响或它们的影响是否可以被抵消。在这项研究中，我们在暴露于电场后立即以及暴露后 7 天评估了基因表达。这项工作的目的是识别蜜蜂中与电场暴露时间和持续时间相关的潜在失调基因转录本。每天用永久性记号笔标记新出现的蜜蜂（每组一种颜色）。然后将蜜蜂暴露在强度为 5.0 kV/m 或 10.0 kV/m 的 50 Hz 电场中 1-3 小时。暴露后，对一半的蜜蜂进行了基因表达变化分析。另一半则被转移到迷你蜂巢中的蜂群中。 7 天后，从迷你蜂巢中收集标记的蜜蜂进行进一步分析。从参与氧化磷酸化(COX5a)的转录本和参与内分泌功能(HBG-3、ILP-1)、线粒体内膜转运(TIM10)和衰老(mRPL18、mRPS30)的转录本中选择了6个调节转录本。我们的研究表明，在意大利蜜蜂中，暴露于 50 Hz 电场后，选定基因的表达会以不同方式发生改变。 Cox5a、mRPL18、mRPS30 和 HGB3 中的大部分表达变化在暴露 1-3 小时后 7 天即可测量到。这些结果表明，一些电场效应可能是由于电场暴露而对蜜蜂产生的长期影响，并且在暴露后7天就可以观察到。