ULK1 and infection: A statistically significant 4.2-fold decrease in p62 protein amount was observed in cells infected with MERS-CoV-MA-Δ4b as compared to MERS-CoV-MA-WT (Fig 5A). Additionally, protein levels of the autophagy inductor ULK1 were increased after infection with MERS-CoV-MA-Δ4b as compared to MERS-CoV-MA-WT (Fig 5B).