Of note, infection by T. gondii significantly inhibited starvation-induced transcription of autophagy-related genes (i.e., ULK1, BECN1, PINK1, GABARAPL2, SQSTM1, and NBR1), as compared to uninfected serum-starved HFF cultures (i.e., “Control”) (Fig. 4A and Fig. S8A, top panel). This evidence concerns the gene ULK1 and infection.