This observation was surprising, because in a previous in vivo study STING was reported to be involved in MCMV sensing and IFN-I induction27,28 and mice devoid of cGAS or STING showed enhanced sensitivity to the infection with other DNA viruses, such as HSV-1 and vaccinia virus (VACV)22,24 (Supplementary Fig. 1c, d). Here, CGAS is linked to infection.