Phosphatidic Acid Interacts with a MYB Transcription Factor and Regulates Its Nuclear Localization and Function in Arabidopsis

Phosphatidic acid (PA) has emerged as a class of cellular mediators involved in various cellular and physiological processes, but little is known about its mechanism of action. Here we show that PA interacts with WEREWOLF (WER), a R2R3 MYB transcription factor involved in root hair formation. The PA-interacting region is confined to the end of the R2 subdomain. The ablation of the PA binding motif has no effect on WER binding to DNA, but abolishes its nuclear localization and its function in regulating epidermal cell fate. Inhibition of PA production by phospholipase D zeta also suppresses WER's nuclear localization, root hair formation, and elongation. These results suggest a role for PA in promoting protein nuclear localization.