Bio-acoustic signaling; exploring the potential of sound as a mediator of low-dose radiation and stress responses in the environment

Abstract

Objectives

This commentary reviews and evaluates the role of sound signals as part of the infosome of cells and organisms. Emission and receipt of sound has recently been identified as a potentially important universal signaling mechanism invoked when organisms are stressed. Recent evidence from plants, animals and microbes suggests that it could be a stimulus for specific or general molecular cellular stress responses in different contexts, and for triggering population level responses. This paper reviews the current status of the field with particular reference to the potential role of sound signaling as an immediate/early bystander effector (RIBE) during radiation-induced stress.

Conclusions

While the chemical effectors involved in intercellular and inter-organismal signaling have been the subject of intense study in the field of Chemical Ecology, less appears to be known about physical signals in general and sound signals in particular. From this review we conclude that these signals are ubiquitous in each kingdom and behave very like physical bystander signals leading to regulation of metabolic pathways and gene expression patterns involved in adaptation, synchronization of population responses, and repair or defence against damage. We propose the hypothesis that acoustic energy released on interaction of biota with electromagnetic radiation may represent a signal released by irradiated cells leading to, or complementing, or interacting with, other responses, such as endosome release, responsible for signal relay within the unirradiated individuals in the targeted population.

Keywords:

• Bio-acoustics
• electromagnetic acoustic induction
• bio-phonon
• phonon
• mechanotransduction
• cell-to-cell signaling
• cellular stress response
• ionizing radiation
• radioecology
• RIBE

Acknowledgements

CM/CBS acknowledge the National CFIDS Foundation Inc.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The present research was financially supported by the Canada Research Chairs Programme [Grant Number: 950-221284], NSERC Collaborative Research and Development Grant [Grant Number: RGPIN293153-12], the National CFIDS Foundation Inc., and Bruce Power.

Notes on contributors

Bruno F. E. Matarèse

Dr. Bruno Matarèse is a physicist in biology and medicine with a particular interest in radiobiology and the use of combined electromagnetic and acoustic technology for early detection of cancer.

Jigar Lad

Jigar Lad is a Master’s student in Medical Physics at the University of Toronto, Canada.

Colin Seymour

Prof. Carmel Mothersill is a radiobiologist with a particular interest in low dose and non-targeted effects of radiation in the environment. She is a professor in the Department of Biology at McMaster University.

Paul N. Schofield

Dr. Paul Schofield is the University Reader in Biomedical Informatics at the University of Cambridge.

Carmel Mothersill

Prof. Colin Seymour is a radiobiologist with a special interest in low dose effects of radiation. He is a professor in the Department of Biology at McMaster University.