최근 가축에서 유래된 메티실린에 내성이 있는 황색포 도상구균과 감수성을 보이는 황색포도상구균(LA-MRSA/LAMSSA) 에 의한 사람의 감염증이 증가하는 추세이다. 이러한 LA-MRSA 및 LA-MSSA균주는 가축을 비롯한 축산업에 종사하는 사람들에게 전파가 이루어질 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 원유, 육우, 축산 종사자에서 분리된 20개의 MRSA 및 MSSA 균주를 이용하여 생물막 형성, 항균 펩타이드에 대한 저항성 및 과산화수소 저항성과 같은 황색포도상구균의 주요 병원성 인자를 평가하였다. 생물막 형성 실험에서는 MRSA와 MSSA간의 차이는 없었으며, 동물 유래 분리주와 사람 유래 분리주들 간의 비교에서도 차이가 없음이 확인 되었다. BMAP-28에 대한 감수성 시험 결과 MRSA-MSSA 또는 동물 분리-사람 분리 간의 차이가 없음을 확인하였다 . 생물막 형성과 BMAP-28 감수성과는 달리, 원유에서 분리된 MRSA 균주들의 H2O2에 대한 내성 증가가 확인 되었다 . 본 연구를 통하여 가축 및 축산업 종사자에서 분리된 LAMRSA와 LA-MSSA 균주의 주요 병원성 인자를 확인하였으며, 숙주 및 환경에서의 생존과 전파 가능성을 이해하는 데 기초 자료로 활용 될 수 있을 것이다.

It has been well known that IKK-β, -ε and –γ play a pivotal role in IMD pathway. In this study, TmIKK-ε was identified and their functions in countering pathogenic infections were investigated. We identified TmIKK-ε gene which including 2,196 bp nucleotides (encoding 731 amino acid residues). Domain analysis of TmIKK-ε indicates that there is one Serine/Threonine protein kinases catalytic domain. TmIKK-ε gene was highly expressed in 2 day-old pupal stage and the expression was gradually decreased until 1 day-old adults. Then the expression was slightly increased until 4 day-old adult stage. Tissue specific expression of TmIKK-ε mRNA was high in the gut, integuments and hemocytes in last instar larvae, and fat body, Malpighian tubules and testis in 5-daysold adult. In hemocytes, TmIKK-ε was drastically induced by E. coli injection after 3 h and by S. aureus at 3 and 12 h-post injection. In gut, expression level of TmIKK-ε was high at 6 h-post injection of microbial injection. Expression of TmIKK-ε in fat body was drastically induced by E. coli at 3 and 24 h-post injection while it was not significantly induced by S. aureus and C. albicans. To understand the immunological role of TmIKK-ε, gene specific RNAi and mortality assay were performed. TmIKK-ε RNAi caused increased larval mortality against E. coli, not S. aureus and C. albicans. Finally, to investigate the induction patterns of Tenebrio fourteen AMP genes in response TmIKK-ε RNAi, three microorganisms were treated into TmIKK-ε-silenced T. molitor larvae. Nine out of fourteen AMP genes were not induced by microbial challenge in TmIKK-β dsRNA-injected group. Taken together, our results indicate that TmIKK-ε may regulates nine antimicrobial peptide genes in response to microbial challenge in T. molitor fat body.