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Sodium and Water Homeostasis pp 159–172Cite as

Go with the Flow: Fluid Roles for miRNAs in Vertebrate Osmoregulation

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Part of the Physiology in Health and Disease book series (PIHD)

Abstract

MicroRNAs are a family of small RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. By regulating the expression of multiple genes that mediate salt and water balance, miRNAs enable precise control over osmoregulatory processes in vertebrates. Differential expression of miRNAs and divergent mRNA targeting have allowed for adaptation of osmoregulatory tissues during vertebrate evolution. Interestingly, only a small number of mRNA target relationships have been maintained over the millennia, indicating that gain and loss of miRNA/mRNA networks have enabled species-specific osmoregulation.

Keywords

  • miRNA
  • Osmoregulation
  • Evolution
  • Kidney

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Johnson Science Tower 512B, 118 College Drive, Box 5018, Hattiesburg, MS, 39406, USA

    Alex S. Flynt

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 2325 Stevenson Center, Box 1820 Station B, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA

    James G. Patton

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  1. Alex S. Flynt
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  2. James G. Patton
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Correspondence to Alex S. Flynt or James G. Patton .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA

    Kelly Anne Hyndman

  2. Department of Physiology, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson, Arizona, USA

    Thomas L. Pannabecker

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Flynt, A.S., Patton, J.G. (2015). Go with the Flow: Fluid Roles for miRNAs in Vertebrate Osmoregulation. In: Hyndman, K., Pannabecker, T. (eds) Sodium and Water Homeostasis. Physiology in Health and Disease. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3213-9_8

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