In this study, the effects of microwave frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) on the fecundity of Drosophila melanogaster were investigated. The Oregon strain females of Drosophila melanogaster were exposed to 10 GHz EMF continuously (3 h, 4 h and 5 h) and discontinuously (3 h exposure + 30 min interval + 3 h exposure). | Turk J Biol 31 (2007) 1-5 © TÜB‹TAK The Effects of Microwave Frequency Electromagnetic Fields on the Fecundity of Drosophila melanogaster Emel ATLI, Hacer ÜNLÜ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hacettepe University, 06800, Ankara - TURKEY Received: Abstract: In this study, the effects of microwave frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) on the fecundity of Drosophila melanogaster were investigated. The Oregon strain females of Drosophila melanogaster were exposed to 10 GHz EMF continuously (3 h, 4 h and 5 h) and discontinuously (3 h exposure + 30 min interval + 3 h exposure). The fecundity of females were determined. In the 4 h and 5 h exposed groups, it was found a statistically significant decrease in mean fecundity as compared to the control (P ). Key Words: Drosophila melanogaster, electromagnetic fields, fecundity Mikrodalga Frekas›ndaki Elektromanyetik Alan›n Drosophila melanogaster’in Yumurta Verimi Üzerine Etkileri Özet: Bu çal›flmada, mikrodalga frekans›ndaki elektromanyetik alanlar›n (EMA) Drosophila melanogaster’in yumurta verimi (fekundite) üzerine olan etkileri incelendi. Drosophila melanogaster’in yaban›l Oregon soyu diflilerine, aral›ks›z 3 saat, 4 saat, 5 saat ve 30 dakika aral›kl› 6 (3 + 3) saat olmak üzere 10 GHz (gigahertz)’lik EMA uyguland›. Diflilerin yumurta verimi belirlendi. 4 ve 5 saatlik uygulama gruplar›nda, ortalama yumurta veriminin kontrole k›yasla istatistiksel olarak azald›¤› (P ). Anahtar Sözcükler: Drosophila melanogaster, elektromanyetik alanlar, yumurta verimi Introduction Over the last decade, the exponential growth of mobile communications has been accompanied by a parallel increase in the density of electromagnetic fields (EMF). As such, the continued expansion of mobile communications raises important questions because EMF have long been suspected of having biological effects. It has been claimed that EMF, especially microwave frequency EMF, cause biological effects by increasing .
