Function of the phosphatidylinositol synthase Pis1 in maintenance of endoplasmic reticulum function and pathogenicity in Candida albicans

•We first identified the function of Pis1 in C. albicans, found that loss of PIS1 casused C. albicans growth inhibited.•Overexpression of PIS1 led to high sensitivity of C. albicans to endoplasmic reticulum stress and cell wall stress, and down-regulated the expression of genes related to ER stress and CWI.•Overexpression of PIS1 strengthened the expression and regulation of the virulence factor Sap1.•Pis1 is an important virulence determinant and may be a new target of antifungal drugs to fight against C. albicans.