Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are effector candidates that elicit humoral immunity in invertebrates. AMPs facilitate bacterial clearance by either physically disrupting the microbial membranes or the intracellular targets. In the Coleopteran pest, Tenebrio molitor, transcriptional regulation of AMPs has been studied in the context of innate immune signaling cascades and antimicrobial immunity. Here, we report the transcriptional response of three AMP genes, Coleoptericin A, B, and C (TmCole A, B and C) in T. molitor in response to bacterial (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus), and fungal (Candida albicans) challenges. These genes were expressed essentially in the gut and hemocytes followed by the integument tissue of the T. molitor larva. Further, these genes were highly expressed in the late‐larval, pupal, and early adult stages. Furthermore, while all of these transcripts were highly upregulated in the fat body and Malpighian tubules after bacterial challenge, TmCole B and TmCole C were induced in the gut after E. coli challenge. Fungal stimulation was not required for the upregulation of the transcription of Coleoptericin genes in T. molitor.

中文翻译：

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细菌而非真菌挑战上调黄粉虫中鞘翅目素基因的转录

抗微生物肽 (AMP) 是在无脊椎动物中引发体液免疫的候选效应物。AMP 通过物理破坏微生物膜或细胞内靶标来促进细菌清除。在鞘翅目害虫黄粉虫中，在先天免疫信号级联和抗菌免疫的背景下研究了 AMP 的转录调控。在这里，我们报告了三种 AMP 基因，鞘翅目素 A、B 和 C（TmCole A、B 和 C）在 T. molitor 中响应细菌（大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌）和真菌（白色念珠菌）挑战的转录反应. 这些基因主要在肠道和血细胞中表达，其次是黑麦螟幼虫的外皮组织。此外，这些基因在晚幼虫、蛹和早期成虫阶段高度表达。此外，虽然所有这些转录物在细菌攻击后在脂肪体和马氏小管中高度上调，但在大肠杆菌攻击后在肠道中诱导了 TmCole B 和 TmCole C。真菌刺激不是 T. molitor 中鞘翅目基因转录上调所必需的。