MicroRNA sequencing of euthermic vs. 24 hour hibernating cardiac tissue in Ictidomys tridecemlineatus
MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, noncoding, single-stranded RNA species which bind to mRNA transcripts and direct them for post-transcriptional regulation. MiRNA and their regulatory roles during hibernation in multiple species have been well-established in the literature; therefore, this project examined miRNA influence on cardiac tissue in control vs. hibernating I. tridecemlineatus. Isolating how miRNA post-transcriptional regulation facilitates changing molecular processes in cardiac tissue during hibernation will shed more light on understanding overwintering in this species.