Despite similar proportions prior to infection, deletion of Dicer/miRNAs after infection and activation led to significantly reduced proportions and absolute numbers of DbGP33-specific CD8 T cells in all lymphoid and non-lymphoid organs analyzed (Fig 2A); dicerCKO donor CD8 T cells were about 5-fold lower in spleen, 2-fold lower in inguinal lymph nodes, and 5-3-fold lower in liver and lungs compared to their WT counterparts (Fig 2A). Here, CD8A is linked to infection.