Finally, gga-miR-21 was overexpressed only during infection with a very virulent strain(RB-1B) and not during infection with a nononcogenic strain(CVI988), providing further evidence for its role in GaHV-2 lymphomagenesis. Our data therefore suggest an additional role for Meq in GaHV-2-mediated lymphomagenesis through the induction of miR-21 expression.