Moreover, despite the deletion of cGAS or STING does not confer a dramatically enhanced disease phenotype after MCMV infection, the cGAS/STING axis functions as an important sensor of MCMV in vivo and promotes survival of approximately 40% of the mice, as indicated by the comparative infection studies with TLR/RLR and TLR/RLR/STING or TLR/RLR/cGAS signaling deficient mice. Here, STING1 is linked to infection.