PP2A-Like Protein Phosphatase () Regulatory Subunits, and , Regulate ' Cell Growth, Morphogenesis, and Virulence.

PP2A-like phosphatases share high homology with PP2A enzymes and are composed of a catalytic subunit and a regulatory subunit. In , the PP2A-like catalytic subunit regulates cell growth, morphogenesis, and virulence. However, the functions of its regulatory subunits remain unclear. Here, by homology analysis and co-IP experiments, we identified two regulatory subunits of in , (orf19.642) and (orf19.5160). We constructed Δ/Δ, Δ/Δ, Δ/Δ, and Δ/Δ Δ/Δ mutants and found that deleting had no apparent phenotypic consequence, while deleting caused slow growth, hypersensitivity to cell wall stress, abnormal morphogenesis in response to serum or genotoxic stress (HU and MMS), less damage to macrophages, and attenuated virulence in mice. However, deleting both and caused significantly stronger defects, which was similar to deleting . Together, our results suggest that is required for the function of and that can partially compensate for the loss of in . Given the vital role of these regulatory subunits of in physiology and virulence, they could serve as potential antifungal targets.