At 4 hpi, AT2-like cells from SARS-CoV-2-infeced ALOs exhibited downregulation of mTOR along with upregulation of autophagy initiation genes ULK1, ATG13, RB1CC1, and BECN1 relative to AT2-like cells from uninfected ALOs, and variable regulation of genes involved in elongation and fusion, suggesting infection-induced autophagy initiation. This evidence concerns the gene ATG13 and infection.