Functional studies of the protein phosphatase-1 (PP1) regulator Sds22 suggest that it is indirectly and/or directly involved in one of the most ancient functions of PP1, i.e. reversing phosphorylation by the Aurora-related protein kinases. We predict that the conserved portion of Sds22 folds into a curved superhelix and demonstrate that mutation to alanine of any of eight residues (Asp 148 Among the protein phosphatases that occur in all studied eukaryotic lineages, the Ser/Thr-specific protein phosphatases of type-1 are the best conserved, with more than 70% of their residues nearly invariant (1). This conservation extends well beyond structurally and catalytically important residues to include exposed residues involved in the binding of regulatory proteins. As a catalytic subunit, PP1 1 depends on the interaction with one or two regulatory subunits for subcellular localization, substrate specificity, and activity regulation (1, 2). Eukaryotic cells contain a large variety of regulatory subunits of PP1, which account for the diversified action of this phosphatase. We have recently proposed that PP1 acquired an essential function during early eukaryotic evolution by the development of sites for interaction with a primordial regulatory subunit(s) (1). This essential primordial function and the sequential acquirement of additional interaction sites and functions would then have impeded further mutation of the corresponding portion(s) of the surface. The phylogenetic distribution of PP1 indicates that this primordial function must have been acquired before the divergence of the extant eukaryotic lineages. One of the most ancient functions of PP1 is to dephosphorylate substrates of the Aurora-related protein kinases, and this is essential for the completion of mitosis (3). The regulatory subunit(s) associated with this function of PP1 remain unknown, but the protein Sds22 (38 kDa) has emerged as a prime candidate. First, both yeast and mammalian Sds22 have been shown to interact with PP1 and to be part of a complex with PP1 that is enriched in the nucleus (4 -7). Second, the Sds22 encoding gene was identified independently in fission and in budding yeast as an extra-copy suppressor of the temperaturesensitive mitotic arrest phenotypes that are associated with certain mutations of PP1 (4,5,8). Deletion of the Sds22-encoding gene caused a similar mitotic arrest, and this phenotype could be complemented by the overexpression of PP1 (4,5,8). Third, the conditionally lethal phenotype in budding yeast that was conferred by a loss-of-function mutation of the Aurora-related kinase Ipl1 (Ipl1-2), was largely relieved by the expression of certain temperature-sensitive mutant versions of Sds22 or PP1 (9, 10). The mutant Sds22 version that rescued the Ipl1-2 phenotype showed a decreased ability to interact with PP1. The expression of this mutant Sds22 did not affect the cellular levels of PP1 or Sds22, but drastically reduced the nuclear level of PP1 and caused a redistribution of the nuclear pool of PP1 (9).Hitherto, little ...