To determine whether the autophagy pathway can be induced upon RGDV infection, we first monitored the expression of 3 autophagy-related genes (Ulk1/Atg1, Atg5 and Atg8) in continuous cultured vector cells in a monolayer (VCM) derived from R. dorsalis using an RT-qPCR assay. The gene discussed is ULK1; the disease is infection.