ABSTRACT
Objective To study the combined effect of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields ( ELF-EMF ) exposure (50 Hz and 3 mT) and high temperature exposure on hsp22 and hsp26 expression in Drosophila melanogaster. Methods Under the conditions of 50 Hz and 3 mT ELF-EMF,the male and female D.melanogaster was separately exposed for 2 h at 25℃, 27.5℃, 30℃, 32.5℃,and 35℃, respectively.The death rate, exercise capacity and the hsp22 and hsp26 expression levels of D.melanogaster were detected after exposure;or at 25℃and 35℃at 2 h, 4 h, 8 h, and 24 h, respectively.The hsp22 and hsp26 expression levels of D.melanogaster were tested after exposure .Results After exposure for 2 h at 25℃, 27.5℃, 30℃, 32.5℃, and 35℃, temperature had a significant effect (P0.05).After exposure for 2 h at 25℃, 27.5℃, 30℃, 32.5℃, and 35℃, the hsp22 and hsp26 expression levels of D.melanogaster were significantly impacted(P<0.01) by gender, temperature, ELF-EMF and exposure time, and tem-perature was the most important factor .Gender, temperature, ELF-EMF and exposure time had some interaction with the results.Conclusion ELF-EMF can influence the expression levels of hsp22 and hsp26.ELF-EMF exposure contributes to heat tolerance in D.melanogaster through accelerated expression of hsp22 and hsp26.