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Cold acclimation usually alters gene expression in insects.In order to get the further information about the up-regulated Attacin gene (MpAttacin) obtained from the transcriptomic data generated at 4℃ from the desert beetle Microdera punctipennis,and to analyze the responsive expression of these genes induced by low temperature,MpAttacin were characterized by bioinformatic analysis.Homology analysis showed that the encoded product of these genes shares 30%-57% identity at the amino acid level with Attacins from other insects of Lepidoptera,Diptera,and Coleoptera.The phylogenetic tree generated by Neighbor-Joining method indicated that MpAttacins and Attacin proteins from other coleopterans are descended from a common ancestor,and they belong to Attacin C superfamily.Real-time quantitative PCR was performed to detect the mRNA level of MpAttacins at low temperatures.Analysis of real-time quantitative PCR showed that the expression of MpAttacins presented a stress-response tendency when stressed at both 4℃and -4℃,decreasing first and then increasing.However,there were differences in their responsive time and strength between these two treatments.The Mpattacin transcripts were detected at significant level in hindgut and Malpighian tube,These results suggest that in addition to the typical function as an anti-microbial peptide,attacin may also be involved in the cold adaptation of insects.