Subsequently, we analyzed the expressions of inflammation and immune- related genes targeted by the five candidate miRNAs in the spleen, including b3gnt2, zbtb16, zc3h12a, and irf7. Interestingly, the results showed that the expression of zc3h12a predicted to be targeted by ssa-miR-146a-5p was significantly promoted in the spleen of fish at 6 h after infection and then reduced to the same level as that in the control groups (Figure 6A). Here, ZBTB16 is linked to infection.