A Patched-Like Protein PsPTL Is Not Essential for the Growth and Response to Various Stresses in .

Patched (Ptc) and Patched-related (Ptr) proteins containing sterol-sensing domains (SSD) and Patched domains are highly conserved in eukaryotes for lipid transport and metabolism. Four proteins containing predicted SSD and Patched domains were simultaneously found by searching the genome database, and one of them was identified as a Patched-like (PTL) protein. Here, we investigated the biological function of . The expression level of was higher during mycelial and sporulation stages, compared to zoospore (ZO), cyst, and germinated-cyst stages, without significant change during infection. However, deletion of using CRISPR/Cas9 had no significant effect on the growth, development, or virulence of . Further investigations showed that is not essential for to cope with external stresses such as temperature, pH, oxidative and osmotic pressure. In addition, this gene did not appear to play an essential role in 's response to exogenous sterols. The transcript levels of the other three proteins containing predicted SSD and Patched domains were also not significantly upregulated in deletion transformants. Our studies demonstrated that PsPTL is not an essential protein for under the tested conditions, and more in-depth research is required for revealing the potential functions of under special conditions or in other signaling pathways.