Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

TAS::89 0331::TAS RECOVERY RECOVERY ACT: 'NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR ADVANCED BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS - AN ALGAL BIOFUELS RESEARCH CONSORTIUM'

CENTER FOR ADVANCED BIOFUELS SYSTEMS -- EFRC

INTEGRATED ENGINEERING OF WHOLE PLANT WATER USE EFFICIENCY IN SORGHUM AND SETARIA

USING SYSTEMS APPROACHES TO IMPROVE PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND WATER USE EFFICIENCY IN SORGHUM0

BII: NEW ROOTS FOR RESTORATION: INTEGRATING PLANT TRAITS, COMMUNITIES, AND THE SOIL ECOSPHERE TO ADVANCE RESTORATION OF NATURAL AND AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS

A SYSTEMS-LEVEL ANALYSIS OF DROUGHT AND DENSITY RESPONSE IN THE MODEL C4 GRASS SETARIA VIRIDIS

A REFERENCE PHENOTYPING SYSTEM FOR ENERGY SORGHUM

VIRCA PLUS UNDER AGRICULTURAL BIOTECH PROGRAM

CENTER FOR ENHANCED CAMELINA OILS (CECO)

THE RECIPIENT WILL WORK TO DEVELOP CASSAVA RESISTANT TO CASSAVA MOSAIC DISEASE AND CASSAVA BROWN STREAK DISEASE. ONE THIRD OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICANS R

DISSECTING THE REGULATORY MECHANISMS OF C4 PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND CARBON PARTITIONING IN SORGHUM

REGULATORY HIERARCHIES AND ROLES OF NON-CODING RNAS IN MAIZE ANTHERS

CONTROL NUMBER 1858-3555 DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER PROJECT TITLE: AUGMENTED REALITY GUI FOR BIOENERGY CROP PHENOTYPING AND PRECISION AGRICULTURE THIS PROJECT WILL CREATE A SCALABLE ARCHITECTURE FOR COLLABORATIVE PHENOMICS (SACP). SACP WILL PROVIDE A PLATFORM-AGNOSTIC, OPEN SOURCE, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE FOR CREATION, ANALYSIS AND SHARING OF PHENOMICS DATASETS, ANALYTICAL PIPELINES AND VISUALIZATION SOFTWARE. SACP WILL INCLUDE A FULL STACK WEB SOLUTION FOR SHARING PUBLIC DATASETS AND OPEN SOURCE CODE SOLVING COMMON “PAIN POINTS” IN PHENOMICS. THIS PROJECT WILL PRODUCE A NOVEL VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) AND AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE (GUI) TO TRANSFORM HOW RESEARCHERS INTERACT WITH COMPLEX DATA. FINALLY, WE WILL CREATE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE “BEST IN CLASS” BENCHMARK DATASETS FOR ANALYSIS WITH MACHINE LEARNING (ML) AND DEEP LEARNING (DL) APPROACHES.

AN INTEGRATED PHENOMICS APPROACH TO IDENTIFYING THE GENETIC BASIS FOR MAIZE ROOT STRUCTURE AND CONTROL OF PLANT NUTRIENT RELATIONS

RESEARCH-PGR: THE ROLE OF NON-CODING RNA IN THE MODULATION OF ANTHER & POLLEN DEVELOPMENT IN GRASSES

ECA-PGR: REGULATORY VARIATION CONTROLLING ARCHITECTURAL DIVERSITY IN MAIZE

GENETIC ANALYSIS OF RNA VIRUS-HOST INTERACTION

HARNESSING REGULATORY VARIATION TO ELUCIDATE DROUGHT RESILIENCE MECHANISMS IN SORGHUM

ELUCIDATING THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING DROUGHT RESILIENCE IN SORGHUM

UROL: EPIGENETICS 2-COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: REVEALING HOW EPIGENETIC INHERITANCE GOVERNS THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE RESPONSE WITH TRANSFORMATIVE 3D GENOMICS AND MACHINE LEARNING

RESEARCH-PGR: ATOMIC NUMBERS: IDENTIFYING THE CONSERVED GENES DRIVING ELEMENT ACCUMULATION IN PLANTS -ELEMENTS ARE BUILDING BLOCKS OF MATTER THAT CANNOT BE CHEMICALLY INTERCONVERTED. THEIR ACQUISITION AND UTILIZATION ARE ESSENTIAL FOR ALL LIFE. YET, MANY GENES INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS OF ELEMENT ACQUISITION ARE UNKNOWN. THE HYPOTHESIS TESTED IN THIS PROPOSAL IS THAT GENES UNDERLYING ELEMENT ACQUISITION CAN BE DETECTED BY USING THEIR EVOLUTIONARY CONSERVATION. THIS RESEARCH USES PLANT GENETIC DATASETS FROM FIVE DIVERSE SPECIES (THE MODEL PLANT ARABIDOPSIS, MAIZE, SORGHUM, SOYBEAN, AND RICE) TO IDENTIFY GENES IN CONSERVED REGIONS OF GENOMES THAT DIRECT ELEMENTAL ACCUMULATION. MUTANTS IN THESE GENES IN ARABIDOPSIS, MAIZE AND SORGHUM WILL BE IDENTIFIED AND CHARACTERIZED TO DETERMINE THE MECHANISMS OF ELEMENT ACCUMULATION. COMPARING THE RESULTS OF THE CHARACTERIZATION EXPERIMENTS TO THE PREDICTIONS WILL ENABLE REFINEMENT OF THE COMPARATIVE APPROACH. THE APPROACH WILL ALSO BE EXTENDED TO UTILIZE DATA FROM DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS IN EACH SPECIES PERMITTING EXPLORATION OF INTERACTIONS BETWEEN GENES AND ENVIRONMENTS IN ANY ORGANISM. THIS APPROACH IS EXTENDABLE TO ALL SPECIES THAT CAN BE SEQUENCED, INCLUDING OTHER CROPS. KNOWLEDGE OF THE MECHANISMS OF ELEMENTAL HOMEOSTASIS IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTANDING PLANT ADAPTATION AND NECESSARY TO REDUCE FERTILIZER REQUIREMENTS IN CROPS. TO EXPAND THE COMMUNITY OF SCIENTISTS, WE WILL INTEGRATE OUR BIOINFORMATICS AND GENETICS RESEARCH INTO UNDERGRADUATE CLASSROOMS, BRING UNDERGRADUATES INTO THE LAB, CONDUCT AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS, AND PRODUCE A PODCAST FOR SCIENTIFIC TRAINEES AND THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY. ELEMENTAL ACQUISITION AND UTILIZATION ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO METABOLISM IN ALL CELLULAR LIFE. PLANTS CHANGE THEIR METABOLISM AND PHYSIOLOGY TO ACCOMMODATE MANY-FOLD DIFFERENCES IN ELEMENT AVAILABILITY. PREVIOUS WORK USED GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES (GWAS) OF ELEMENTAL ACCUMULATION ACROSS FIVE SPECIES AND DETERMINED THAT, MORE OFTEN THAN EXPECTED, ORTHOLOGOUS GENES ARE PRESENT WITHIN CONFIDENCE INTERVALS OF THESE QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI. TO VALIDATE THE PREDICTIONS OF GENE FUNCTION, THIS PROJECT WILL ANALYZE LOSS-OF-FUNCTION ALLELES FROM SEQUENCE-INDEXED MUTANT POPULATIONS OF ARABIDOPSIS, SORGHUM, AND MAIZE FOR EFFECTS ON ELEMENTAL PROFILES. AMONG THE ORTHOLOGS IN THE GWAS EXPERIMENTS ARE GENES LIKELY INVOLVED IN ELEMENTAL TRANSPORT AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATORS OF THIS PROCESS. THIS PROJECT WILL EXPLORE THE BIOLOGY OF A SUBSET OF CANDIDATE GENES TO DETERMINE THE ASPECTS OF CELL BIOLOGY AND GENE EXPRESSION THEY CONTROL. THE PROJECT WILL CARRY OUT MECHANISTIC INVESTIGATIONS OF THESE GENES CONSISTENT WITH THEIR FUNCTIONAL ANNOTATION (E.G., TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR; TRANSPORTER). THE ORTHOLOGOUS APPROACH NOT ONLY PERMITS THE COMBINING OF MULTIPLE GWAS EXPERIMENTS ACROSS SPECIES, BUT ALSO CAN CREATE LISTS OF ORTHOLOGS AFFECTING ENVIRONMENTALLY CONTINGENT OR POPULATION-SPECIFIC VARIATION. THE PROJECT WILL EXTEND THE METHOD TO INCORPORATE EXPERIMENTS ACROSS MULTIPLE ENVIRONMENTS AND MULTIPLE POPULATION TYPES INTO THE ORTHOLOGY-BASED APPROACH. THIS WILL EXTEND THE APPROACH TO PERMIT FUTURE EXPLORATION OF GENE-BY-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS IN ELEMENTAL HOMEOSTASIS AND IMPROVE THE ACCURATE IDENTIFICATION OF CAUSATIVE GENES FROM QUANTITATIVE GENETIC EXPERIMENTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

LINKING MOLECULAR, BIOCHEMICAL AND PHENOTYPIC RESPONSES TO THE ENVIRONMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE, STRESS RESILIENT BIOENERGY SORGHUM

PLANTSYNBIO/TR-TECH-PGR: TARGETED INTEGRATION OF USER-DEFINED DNA IN PLANTS

PLANTTRANSFORM: SMART GRASS - SIMPLIFIED METHODS FOR ACCESSIBLE AND RAPID TRANSFORMATION OF THE GRASSES -AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS MUST ADAPT TO SUSTAINABLY MEET SOCIETY?S NEEDS FOR AFFORDABLE FOOD, FEED, BIOFUEL AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS, WHILE FACING ACCELERATING CLIMATE CHANGE AND A GROWING POPULATION. TO REACH THIS GOAL, IT IS ESSENTIAL TO ENHANCE OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS CROP PLANTS USE TO RESPOND TO STRESSES, STORE NUTRIENTS AND INTERACT WITH PESTS AND BENEFICIAL ORGANISMS. THE ABILITY TO MANIPULATE A PLANT?S GENETIC INFORMATION IS A CRUCIAL TOOL SCIENTISTS USE TO STUDY PLANT BIOLOGY, AND TO PRODUCE NEW AND ENHANCED CROP VARIETIES. IT IS RECOGNIZED, HOWEVER, THAT CAPACITY IS LACKING ACROSS THE PLANT SCIENCE RESEARCH COMMUNITY TO GENETICALLY MODIFY THE IMPORTANT CROP PLANTS. THIS SEVERELY LIMITS SCIENTISTS? ABILITY TO DEVELOP THE BASIC KNOWLEDGE AND THE NEW CROP VARIETIES THAT SOCIETY REQUIRES. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO OVERCOME THIS CONSTRAINT BY FORMING A PUBLIC/PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERSHIP TO DEVELOP SIMPLE AND EFFICIENT GENETIC MODIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES APPLICABLE ACROSS THE ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT GRASS AND CEREAL CROPS. SPECIFICALLY, RECENT ADVANCES THAT STIMULATE REGENERATION OF PLANTS FROM LEAF TISSUES WILL BE LEVERAGED TO ADAPT FOR EFFECTIVE USE IN MAIZE, SORGHUM, WHEAT, BARLEY, THE MILLETS AND BIOFUEL CROPS. IMPORTANTLY, THE TOOLS DEVELOPED WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL RESEARCHERS. IN ADDITION, THE KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNIQUES WILL BE DISSEMINATED FREELY THROUGH AN EXISTING NETWORK OF MORE THAN 800 SCIENTISTS ENGAGED IN THE AREA OF PLANT TRANSFORMATION. BY THE END OF THE THREE-YEAR PROJECT, IT IS THE GOAL THAT SCIENTISTS WILL BE ABLE TO PRODUCE GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANTS NEEDED TO ACCELERATE THEIR RESEARCH PROGRAMS AND IN SO DOING, WILL BE BETTER EQUIPPED TO DELIVER THE IMPROVED CROPS NEEDED BY SOCIETY NOW, AND IN THE FUTURE. ADVANCES IN PLANT SCIENCE ARE PRESENTLY CONSTRAINED BY LACK OF CAPACITY FOR PRODUCTION OF TRANSGENIC AND GENOME EDITED PLANTS. DEVELOPMENT OF BABY BOOM (BBM) WUSCHEL2 (WUS2) TECHNOLOGY, COUPLED WITH LEAF TRANSFORMATION, PRESENTS A CRUCIAL OPPORTUNITY TO OVERCOME THIS BOTTLENECK. LEAF-BASED BBM/WUS2 TECHNOLOGY PRESENTS A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT FOR TRANSFORMATION IN THE GRASSES. LEAF EXPLANTS ARE EASY TO OBTAIN AND PREPARE, PRESENTING NEW POTENTIAL FOR PRODUCTION OF TRANSGENIC PLANTS IN CLONALLY PROPAGATED GRASSES, FOR SPECIES THAT DO NOT BREED TRUE, AND FOR GRAINS WITH SEED SIZE TOO SMALL TO BE AMENABLE TO SEED-BASED TRANSFORMATION. RECENT REPORTS SHOW BBM/WUS2 LEAF TRANSFORMATION TO BE EFFICIENT AND GENOTYPE-FLEXIBLE IN MAIZE. THIS PROJECT USE A PUBLIC/PRIVATE COLLABORATION TO LEVERAGE LEAF-BASED BBM/WUS2 TRANSFORMATION AND DEVELOP SIMPLIFIED, ROBUST, AND HIGHLY EFFICIENT TRANSFORMATION SYSTEMS ACROSS THE CEREAL, FORAGE AND GRASS BIOFUEL CROPS. NOVEL BBM/WUS2 EXPRESSION SYSTEMS WILL BE DEVELOPED AND OPTIMIZED FOR MULTIPLE VARIETIES IN EACH SPECIES AND METHODS VALIDATED FOR EFFICACY AND TRANSFERABILITY BY REPLICATING ACROSS THE COLLABORATING LABORATORIES. ALL BBM/WUS2 VECTORS AND TOOLS WILL BE NEWLY SYNTHESIZED AND MADE FREELY AVAILABLE FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES THROUGH PUBLIC, NON-PROFIT REPOSITORIES. METHODOLOGIES WILL BE PUBLISHED AND DISSEMINATED THROUGH THE PLANTGENE RESEARCH COORDINATION NETWORK (HTTPS://PLANTGENE.SIVB.ORG/). THIS WILL ENABLE RAPID, WIDESPREAD ADOPTION OF LEAF-BASED BBM/WUS2 TECHNOLOGY BY THE PLANT SCIENCE COMMUNITY AND PROVIDE PUBLIC SECTOR SCIENTISTS WITH THE TOOLS AND KNOWLEDGE TO PRODUCE THE GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANTS NEEDED TO SUPPORT AND ACCELERATE THEIR RESEARCH PROGRAMS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

NEW; TITLE: MODULATION OF PHYTOCHROME SIGNALING NETWORKS FOR IMPROVED BIOMASS ACCUMULATION USING A BIOENERGY CROP MODEL; PI: TODD MOCKLER

RESEARCH-PGR: DISSECTING THE GENETIC NETWORKS UNDERLYING KRANZ ANATOMY IN C4 GRASSES

EDGE CMT: EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HEAT STRESS MEMORY IN PHOTOSYNTHETIC CELLS -CHANGING VARIABLE ENVIRONMENTS ARE CAUSING PLANTS TO RESPOND TO REPEATED HIGH TEMPERATURES IMPAIRING PLANT GROWTH AND REDUCING CROP YIELDS. TO ENGINEER CROPS WITH IMPROVED THERMOTOLERANCE, IT IS CRUCIAL TO UNDERSTAND HOW PLANTS TOLERATE REPEATED HIGH TEMPERATURES. PLANTS THAT EXPERIENCE MODERATE HIGH TEMPERATURES CAN SURVIVE SUBSEQUENT EXTREME LETHAL HEAT. THIS ACQUIRED HEAT TOLERANCE IS CRITICAL FOR PLANT SURVIVAL, BUT ITS UNDERLYING MECHANISMS ARE UNCLEAR. PHOTOSYNTHESIS, THE PROCESS BY WHICH PLANTS USE SUNLIGHT TO PRODUCE FOOD, IS ONE OF THE MOST HEAT SENSITIVE FUNCTIONS IN PLANT CELLS. UNDERSTANDING HOW PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESPONDS TO REPEATED HIGH TEMPERATURES REMAINS LARGELY UNEXPLORED. THIS PROPOSAL FOCUSES ON THE MECHANISMS CONTROLLING SHORT-TERM STRESS MEMORY OVER MULTIPLE GENERATIONS USING CULTURES OF GREEN ALGAE, WHICH SHARE SIMILAR PHOTOSYNTHETIC MECHANISMS WITH LAND PLANTS AND MODEL PLANTS GROWN IN SOIL. THE RESEARCH WILL HELP IMPROVE CROP RESILIENCE TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS, DRIVE INNOVATIVE AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS IN RESPONSE TO ELEVATED TEMPERATURES, AND ENGAGE A BROAD RANGE OF RESEARCHERS WHO STUDY STRESS RESPONSES IN PLANT CELLS. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO FORM THE BASIS OF EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES DESIGNED TO EQUIP MENTEES AT VARIOUS LEVELS AND IMPLEMENT COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS AS COMMUNITY RESOURCES TO THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AND THE PUBLIC. UNICELLULAR GREEN ALGA CHLAMYDOMONAS REINHARDTII EXHIBITS TRANSGENERATIONAL, INHERITABLE HEAT STRESS MEMORY (HSM) FOR 4-6 STRESS-FREE GENERATIONS BUT THE MECHANISMS ARE UNKNOWN. IT IS HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING HSM MAY INVOLVE EPIGENETIC REGULATION. CHLAMYDOMONAS IS AN EXCELLENT MODEL TO DETERMINE THESE GENERALIZABLE MECHANISMS BECAUSE OF ITS FAST GROWTH RATE, HAPLOID GENOME, SIMPLE GENE FAMILIES, HIGH-THROUGHPUT PHENOTYPING TECHNIQUES, AND RELATEDNESS TO LAND PLANTS. THE PROJECT HAS THREE SPECIFIC RESEARCH AIMS. AIM 1 WILL EMPLOY SYSTEMS-WIDE OMICS APPROACHES (RNA-SEQ, ATAC-SEQ, HISTONE PROTEOMICS, AND CHIP-SEQ) ALONG WITH COMPUTATIONAL METHODS TO INVESTIGATE TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH HSM TO DETERMINE THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF HSM. AIM 2 WILL DISSECT THE FUNCTION AND MECHANISM OF HEAT SHOCK FACTOR1 (CRHSF1, THE MASTER REGULATOR OF HEAT RESPONSES) AND FORGETTER1 (CRFGT1, A PUTATIVE CHROMATIN REMODELER) IN HSM. AIM 3 WILL VALIDATE THE FUNCTION OF HSM CANDIDATE GENES USING QUANTITATIVE, HIGH-THROUGHPUT, POOLED PHENOTYPING OF MUTANT COLLECTIONS. HIGHLY CONSERVED, NOVEL HSM GENE CANDIDATES WILL BE SELECTED AND FUNCTIONALLY VERIFIED IN DICOT AND MONOCOT MODELS. THIS RESEARCH ADDRESSES FUNDAMENTAL BIOLOGICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW PLANT CELLS TOLERATE REPEATED HIGH TEMPERATURES, PARTICULARLY FOCUSING ON PHOTOSYNTHETIC PROCESSES. THE PROJECT INTEGRATES GENOMICS, MACHINE LEARNING, PHYSIOLOGY, AND GENETICS, TO BUILD A COMPREHENSIVE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK OF STRESS MEMORY IN PHOTOSYNTHETIC CELLS. THIS RESEARCH IS POISED TO MAKE A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON OUR UNDERSTANDING OF EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HSM. GIVEN THAT THE BASIC MECHANISMS REGULATING CHROMATIN DYNAMICS AND GENE EXPRESSION ARE HIGHLY CONSERVED THE RESULTS ARE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO THE MEMORY MECHANISMS OF OTHER STRESSES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

DEEP GREEN: STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL GENOMIC CHARACTERIZATION OF CONSERVED UNANNOTATED GREEN LINEAGE PROTEINS

THE BRACHYPODIUM ENCODE PROJECT - FROM SEQUENCE TO FUNCTION: PREDICTING PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES IN GRASSES TO FACILITATE ENGINEERING OF BIOFUEL CROPS

DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER WILL CREATE THE CENTER FOR AGTECH AND APPLIED LOCATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (CATALST) VENTURE SCALE PROJECT WHICH AIMS TO CAPITALIZE ON THE DEMAND FOR NEW PRECISION AG TECHNOLOGIES BY TAPPING INTO THE ST. LOUIS REGION'S EXPERTISE IN AGTECH AND LOCATION SCIENCE TO FUEL INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND TO ADVANCE IDEAS TO COMMERCIALIZATION. LEVERAGING THESE TWO REGIONAL CLUSTER STRENGTHS PRESENTS ST. LOUIS WITH DISTINCT COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE TO TAKE A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

HIGH THROUGHPUT FIELD PHENOTYPING IS A RELATIVELY NEW BUT RAPIDLY GROWING RESEARCH AREA, AND IT WILL REMAIN A TOP AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH PRIORITY IN THE NEXT DECADE. REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES, PROXIMAL SENSORS, PLATFORMS SUCH AS UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVS) AND GROUND VEHICLES, AND STATISTICAL DATA-DRIVEN ANALYTICS ARE BEING RAPIDLY CUSTOMIZED AND DEPLOYED FOR HIGH THROUGHPUT PHENOTYPING AND USED AS PLANT PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT TOOLS FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT/BREEDING AND PRECISION AGRICULTURE SYSTEMS FOR AGRONOMY, SOIL SCIENCE, AND FARM MANAGEMENT. HOWEVER, HIGH COSTS, WEATHER-DEPENDENT DATA COLLECTION (E.G., HUMAN-OPERATED UAV'S), DATA PROCESSING LAG FROM COMPLICATED AND/OR INEFFICIENT ANALYSIS PROCEDURES, AND A LACK OF STANDARDIZATION IN SENSOR-BASED TECHNOLOGIES ARE JUST A FEW OF THE RECURRING ISSUES PREVENTING THESE TECHNOLOGIES FROM BEING MORE ACCESSIBLE. ADDITIONALLY, EACH NEWLY DEVELOPED PHENOTYPING TECHNOLOGY OR TOOL CAN MEASURE ONLY ONE OR A FEW FACETS OF HIGHLY QUANTITATIVE AND MULTI-VARIABLE TRAITS IN AGRICULTURE, SUCH AS YIELD, ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS, OR DROUGHT RESISTANCE.THEREFORE, THE LOOP NEEDED TO MAKE CONCRETE ADVANCES IN IMPROVING OUR FOOD, FUEL, AND FEED CROPS REMAINS OPEN WITH THE CURRENT AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS. HERE, WE AIM TO CLOSE THE LOOP BY DEVELOPING AND DEPLOYING AN INTEGRATED CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEM FOR CONNECTING PLANT PHENOTYPES TO GENOTYPES WITH REAL-TIME CROP MANAGEMENT. WITH A ROBUST WIRELESS ENVIRONMENTAL SENSOR NETWORK, THIS INTEGRATED CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEM, OR FIELDDOCK, WILL DEPLOY AND MANAGE DAILY UAV FLIGHTS OVER TARGET FIELDS TO AUTOMATE CROP MODELING AND GENETIC MAPPING TO ACCELERATE BREEDING EFFORTS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT, NUTRITIOUS, AND HIGH-YIELDING CROPS WHILE TRACKING FARM INPUTS TO POTENTIALLY GUIDE CROP MANAGEMENT.INTEGRATED CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEMS LIKE THE PROPOSED FIELDDOCK ARE VITAL SO THAT HIGH THROUGHPUT PHENOTYPING TOOLS ARE STREAMLINED TO BE ACCESSIBLE FOR BROAD AND APPLIED AGRICULTURAL USE. WITH ONBOARD GWAS AND CROP MODEL PROCESSING, RESEARCHERS WILL RECEIVE A CONSTANT STREAM OF REMOTE DATA THAT WILL ALLOW THEM TO FOCUS ON ANALYSIS AND BREEDING STRATEGIES, RATHER THAN MANUALLY COLLECTING DATA THROUGHOUT THE GROWING SEASON. BREEDING EFFORTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BOTH PRIVATE AND ACADEMIC, EMPLOYING THE MINDS OF MANY TALENTED RESEARCHERS AND COMPUTER ENGINEERS COULD FURTHER FINE-TUNE SUCH A DEVICE FOR MANY DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS WITHIN AN EVER-CHANGING CLIMATE. A STANDARDIZED ALL-IN-ONE PLATFORM LIKE FIELDDOCK COULD POTENTIALLY UNIFY GLOBAL EFFORTS TO ACCELERATE SOME OF THE MOST CRITICAL BREEDING GOALS OF OUR TIME BY MAKING IT AFFORDABLE AND LOWERING THE BARRIER TO ENTRY FOR SUCH A HIGH END, ADVANCED CYBER-PHYSICAL TECHNOLOGY.FOR FARMERS, THE FIELDDOCK PLATFORM AIMS TO CONNECT SPATIAL, TEMPORAL AND MULTI-LAYERED ENVIRONMENTAL DATA IN REAL TIME WHILE GENERATING POWERFUL PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS AND MACHINE LEARNING MODELS THAT WILL DRIVE RELIABLE COMMANDS TO AUTOMATE FIELD EQUIPMENT THROUGHOUT THE GROWING SEASON. A CYBER-PHYSICAL FARM WILL SELF-LEARN WITH SUCH A SYSTEM IN PLACE AND ADAPT TO KEEP PACE WITH THE RAPIDLY CHANGING CLIMATE AND THE UNPREDICTABLE CHALLENGES IT WILL BRING. FIELDDOCK WILL ACT AS AN ALL-ENCOMPASSING PLATFORM TO GATHER ALL CRUCIAL FIELD DATA NEEDED TO OFFER DECISION SUPPORT FOR FARMERS IN THE SHORT TERM WHILE DEVELOPING MACHINE LEARNING MODELS FROM DETAILED DATASETS FOR THE AUTONOMOUS FARM OF THE FUTURE.ULTIMATELY, THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL COLLECT PLOT LEVEL DATA AT A SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL RESOLUTION NECESSARY FOR RESEARCHERS AND GROWERS TO DEVELOP AND IMPROVE HIGH-YIELDING, ENERGY EFFICIENT CROPS THAT ARE RESILIENT TO VARIABLE CLIMATES, AND ALSO BENCHMARK AN INTEGRATED CLOSED-LOOP SMART FARM SYSTEM THAT CAN HELP AGRICULTURAL GROWERS REDUCE THEIR ENERGY INPUTS IN REAL TIME.

MINERAL NUTRIENT GENE DISCOVERY AND GENE X ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS USING THE NESTED ASSOCIATION MAPPING POPULATION IN MAIZE

USING THE LIVERWORT MARCHANTIA PALACEA AS A MODEL FOR FUNCTIONAL, COMPARATIVE AND EVOLUTIONARY STUDIES OF ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL SYMBIOSIS -THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLANTS AND A TYPE OF FUNGI CALLED ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL (AM) FUNGI. THESE FUNGI ASSIST PLANTS, PARTICULARLY THOSE IN NUTRIENT-DEFICIENT SOILS, IN ABSORBING ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS. IN EXCHANGE, THE PLANTS PROVIDE THE FUNGI WITH SUGARS AND FATS THEY PRODUCE. UNDERSTANDING THIS PARTNERSHIP IS CRUCIAL AS IT NOT ONLY HELPED PLANTS ADAPT FROM LIVING IN WATER TO LAND BUT IS ALSO VITAL FOR MOST PLANTS TODAY. THE PROJECT'S UNIQUE APPROACH INVOLVES STUDYING LIVERWORTS, SIMPLE PLANTS THAT, DESPITE THEIR LACK OF ROOTS, ENGAGE IN THIS BENEFICIAL INTERACTION WITH AM FUNGI. BY INVESTIGATING THE FUNDAMENTAL MECHANICS OF THIS RELATIONSHIP, THE PROJECT OFFERS INSIGHTS INTO HOW PLANTS ADAPT TO DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS AND THE INFLUENCING FACTORS IN THEIR INTERACTION WITH AM FUNGI. THIS KNOWLEDGE COULD ENHANCE PLANT NUTRITION, REDUCE DEPENDENCE ON SYNTHETIC FERTILIZERS, LOWER FARMING COSTS, AND DECREASE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. THE PROJECT IS ALSO COMMITTED TO NURTURING FUTURE SCIENTISTS, PARTICULARLY FROM UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES, AND PROMOTING A WIDER APPRECIATION OF THE ROLE OF SCIENCE IN SHAPING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. IT AIMS TO ATTRACT BOTH UNDERGRADUATES AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO STEM CAREER PATHS. BY USING EXISTING PROGRAMS THAT ACTIVELY RECRUIT MINORITY STUDENTS, THE PROJECT SEEKS TO ENHANCE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY WITHIN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS AIMED AT ELUCIDATING THE FUNDAMENTAL GENETIC MECHANISMS UNDERLYING ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL (AM) SYMBIOSIS, A PREVALENT PLANT-MICROBE ASSOCIATION THAT FACILITATES PLANT SURVIVAL. DESPITE ITS UBIQUITY AND SIGNIFICANCE, UNDERSTANDING OF AM SYMBIOSIS IS MINIMAL DUE TO THE SUBTERRANEAN NATURE OF THIS INTERACTION AND THE SLOW PACE OF MUTANT STUDIES IN COMMON FLOWERING PLANT MODEL SYSTEMS. THE PROJECT AIMS TO IDENTIFY THE CORE SET OF GENE FUNCTIONS REQUIRED FOR AM SYMBIOSIS ACROSS ALL PLANTS AND TEST THESE FUNCTIONS IN THE EARLY-DIVERGING LIVERWORT, MARCHANTIA PALEACEA. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT A CONSERVED SET OF GENES AND CELLULAR PROCESSES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCESSFUL AM SYMBIOSIS IN ALL PLANTS, IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR LIFESTYLE OR LINEAGE. THE RESEARCH APPROACH INCLUDES COMPARATIVE PHYLOGENOMICS TO IDENTIFY THE CORE SET OF GENES USED BY ALL LAND PLANTS, DEVELOPMENT OF A PHENOTYPING FRAMEWORK FOR CELLULAR AND PHYSIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF AM SYMBIOSIS IN MARCHANTIA, AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CONSERVED GENE REQUIREMENTS FOR A FUNCTIONAL MUTUALISM BETWEEN MARCHANTIA AND AM FUNGI THROUGH MUTANT PLANT STUDIES. THIS INNOVATIVE APPROACH LEVERAGES A NEW MODEL SYSTEM TO ACCELERATE UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL GENES IN AM SYMBIOSIS. IN ADDITION, THESE RESULTS CAN SERVE AS A BLUEPRINT TO GENERATE PRINCIPLES THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO A RANGE OF OTHER IMPORTANT PLANT-MICROBE SYMBIOTIC INTERACTIONS. THROUGH VARIOUS OUTREACH AND EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES, THE PROJECT WILL ACTIVELY ENGAGE STUDENTS AND THE PUBLIC, IGNITE CURIOSITY, AND FOSTER AN APPRECIATION FOR SCIENCE AND ITS POTENTIAL TO SHAPE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EDGE FGT: DEVELOPMENT OF SPHAGNUM (PEAT) MOSS AS A LAB MODEL SYSTEM FOR PHYSIOLOGICAL, MOLECULAR AND FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS STUDIES -MOSSES REPRESENT ONE OF THE EARLIEST LINEAGES OF LAND PLANTS AND HAVE SEVERAL ECOLOGICAL, DEVELOPMENTAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS WHICH ARE UNIQUE AND PROVIDE CRITICAL INFORMATION ON PLANT EVOLUTION. TO DATE, ONLY ONE MOSS SPECIES, PHYSCOMITRIUM PATENS, (OUT OF >12,000 SPECIES) HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED AS A LAB MODEL FOR FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS. THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO ESTABLISH SPHAGNUM SPECIES (PEATMOSS) AS A LEADING MOSS MODEL BECAUSE: (1) SPHAGNUM SPECIES ARE THE MAIN CONSTITUENTS AND ENGINEERS OF PEATLANDS, WHICH STORE A THIRD OF EARTH?S TERRESTRIAL CARBON POOL AS PEATMOSS, THUS, HAVE A CRITICAL ROLE IN INFLUENCING GLOBAL CARBON, WATER, AND NITROGEN CYCLES, AND ARE EMERGING AS KEY MODELS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE STUDIES; (2) SPHAGNUM SPP. EXHIBIT DISTINCTIVE MORPHOLOGICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL, ECOLOGICAL AND GENOMIC TRAITS, SUITABLE FOR THEIR DEVELOPMENT AS A MODEL SYSTEM; (3) SPHAGNUM SPECIES SUPPORT UNIQUE MICROBIOMES, WHICH HAVE MAJOR ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES; (4) SPHAGNUM SPECIES, GROUPED UNDER SPHAGNOPSIDA, FORM THE SISTER CLADE TO ALL OTHER MOSSES, WHILE ALL ESTABLISHED AND CURRENTLY USED MOSSES BELONG TO BRYOPSIDA MOSSES; AND (5) AN ACTIVE COMMUNITY OF RESEARCHERS EXPLORING SEVERAL ECO/PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF SPHAGNUM IS CURRENTLY BEING CHALLENGED BY THE LACK OF RELEVANT MOLECULAR AND GENOMIC RESOURCES. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL HELP EXTEND THESE EFFORTS INTO ESTABLISHING SPHAGNUM SPP. AS A GENETICALLY TRACTABLE MODEL SYSTEM AND WILL ALSO COMPLEMENT ONGOING RESEARCH WITH A FEW OTHER MOSS SPECIES. THIS PROJECT ALSO INCORPORATES TRAINING AND MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG STUDENTS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC THROUGH SCIENCE AWARENESS PROGRAMS, FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS THROUGH THE REU PROGRAM AND FOR POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS THROUGH MULTIDISCIPLINARY TRAINING AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP THEM ESTABLISH THEIR INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC CAREERS. DESPITE THEIR FASCINATING FEATURES, IMPACTS ON GLOBAL CARBON CYCLES, AND UNIQUE POSITION IN LAND PLANT EVOLUTION, STUDIES ON SPHAGNUM SPP. ARE LIMITED MOSTLY TO ECO-PHYSIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS, AND FUNCTIONAL GENOMIC RESOURCES REMAIN SCARCE. THE ABILITY OF SPHAGNUM SPP. TO RESPOND AND ADAPT TO CLIMATE CHANGE IS A PREDICTOR OF THE STABILITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE PEATLANDS AND THE FUTURE TRAJECTORY OF GLOBAL CARBON FLUXES. THEREFORE, ESTABLISHING SPHAGNUM SPP. AS FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS MODELS WILL HELP TRANSLATE THE PLANT MORPHOLOGY, PHYSIOLOGY AND GENE LEVEL KNOWLEDGE TO THE ECOSYSTEM LEVEL EFFECTS AND CONVERSELY, ECOSYSTEM LEVEL TRAITS CAN BE CORRELATED WITH SPECIFIC GENE FUNCTION AND MECHANISMS. TOWARDS THIS, THE GOALS OF THIS PROPOSAL ARE TO DEVELOP LAB GROWN SPHAGNUM CULTURES (AXENIC AND SOIL GROWN), ESTABLISH MOLECULAR GENETIC TOOLS, ESPECIALLY TRANSFORMATION AND REGENERATION PROTOCOLS FOR FUTURE MECHANISTIC STUDIES AND EXPAND AND CREATE CHROMOSOME-SCALE REFERENCE GENOMES AND AN EXPRESSION ATLAS FOR SPHAGNUM SPP. THESE TOOLS WILL ALLOW SCIENTISTS TO EXPAND THE RESULTS OBTAINED WITH A SINGLE MOSS MODEL SPECIES FOR COMPARATIVE APPROACHES WITHIN BRYOPHYTES (E.G., COMPARISON OF SPHAGNUM SPP. WITH P. PATENS) AS WELL AS IN THE LARGER CONTEXT OF LAND PLANT EVOLUTION. FUTURE COMPARATIVE ANALYSES WILL HAVE THE POWER TO DISCERN CONSERVED AND DIVERGENT GENE FUNCTIONS. THIS RESEARCH WILL GENERATE RESOURCES THAT WILL COMPLEMENT THE ONGOING EXTENSIVE ECOPHYSIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFORTS TO UNDERSTAND PEATLAND BIOLOGY AND RESTORATION, MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO LINK GENETIC AND GENOMIC LEVEL CHANGES WITH ECOSYSTEM LEVEL EFFECTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

OPTIMIZING TRADEOFFS IMPLICIT DURING BIOENERGY CROP IMPROVEMENT: UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECT OF ALTERED CELL WALL AND SUGAR CONTENT ON SORGHUM-ASSOCIATED PATHOGENIC BACTERIA

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: TRTECH-PGR: DEVELOPMENT AND SHARING OF HIGH-RESOLUTION IN SITU 3D CRYO WORKFLOWS TO TRANSFORM PLANT CELL BIOLOGY -MUCH CAN BE LEARNED ABOUT HOW AN ORGANISM FUNCTIONS BY UNDERSTANDING HOW ITS CELLS AND TISSUES ARE ORGANIZED. CELLS ARE VERY SMALL AND SO THEY CAN BEST BE OBSERVED WITH SPECIALIZED TECHNIQUES LIKE ELECTRON MICROSCOPY. SAMPLES MUST BE PRESERVED CAREFULLY FOR STUDY BY ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND CARE MUST BE TAKEN NOT TO INTRODUCE CHANGES THAT COULD MISLEAD INTERPRETATION OF OBSERVATIONS. THE BEST METHOD FOR PREPARING TISSUE FOR ELECTRON MICROSCOPY IS TO RAPIDLY FREEZE SAMPLES AND OBSERVE THEM UNDER VERY LOW TEMPERATURES, A PROCESS CALLED CRYOGENIC PRESERVATION. CRYOPRESERVATION IS CHALLENGING IN PLANTS, AND THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP PROCEDURES THAT OVERCOME THESE CHALLENGES. IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS PROPOSAL WILL ALLOW PLANT CELLS AND TISSUES TO BE OBSERVED AFTER CRYOPRESERVATION AND GIVE UNPRECEDENTED INFORMATION ABOUT HOW PARTS OF PLANT CELLS AND TISSUE WORK TOGETHER. UNDERSTANDING HOW PLANT CELLS WORK WILL HELP DEVELOP PLANTS THAT ARE BETTER ABLE TO MEET HUMAN NEEDS AND ENSURE FOOD SECURITY. THE METHODS DEVELOPED WILL BE SHARED WITH OTHERS THROUGH PUBLIC DATABASES TO ALLOW OTHER SCIENTISTS TO USE THE METHODS IN THEIR OWN STUDIES. THE RESEARCH WILL INCLUDE SEVERAL EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS, AND THEY WILL RECEIVE TRAINING IN TECHNIQUES AND DEVELOP SKILLS WHICH ARE IN HIGH DEMAND IN SCIENCE LABS AND IN INDUSTRY. CRYOGENIC PRESERVATION IS THE GOLD STANDARD FOR DETERMINING CELL ULTRASTRUCTURE IN ITS ?NATIVE STATE? BY VIRTUE OF PHYSICAL FIXATION (FREEZING) TO IMMOBILIZE CELL CONSTITUENTS IN MILLISECONDS. VOLUME ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (VEM) HAS GAINED SIGNIFICANT TRACTION AS A TOOL FOR DISCOVERING THE STRUCTURE AND SPATIAL ORGANIZATION OF CELL AND TISSUE COMPONENTS. IN COMBINATION WITH CRYO-ELECTRON TOMOGRAPHY (CRYOET), CRYO-VEM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO YIELD A PARADIGM SHIFT IN MULTI-SCALE IN SITU STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY. HOWEVER, DUE TO THEIR PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES, PLANT CELLS ARE UNIQUELY RECALCITRANT TO FIXATION. THUS, PLANT SCIENCE IS STRIKINGLY LAGGING OTHER FIELDS IN THE REVOLUTION OF UNDERSTANDING OF HOW MACROMOLECULAR COMPLEXES AND CELL COMPARTMENTS COORDINATE TO CREATE LIFE. DETERMINING THE STRUCTURE OF CELLS AND ORGANELLES IN FULLY FROZEN HYDRATED CHEMICALLY UNTREATED AND UNSTAINED WOULD ALLOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE OBSERVATION OF THESE ENTITIES IN THEIR NATIVE STATES. THIS PROPOSAL WILL DEVELOP CRYOPRESERVATION AND NANOSCALE IMAGING PROCEDURES FOR VEM OF PLANT TISSUES IN A FOCUSED EFFORT TO ADDRESS THIS CHALLENGE EFFICIENTLY FOR THE PLANT COMMUNITY. WHOLE CELL STRUCTURES WILL BE ELUCIDATED IN 3D USING CRYO-VEM, WHILE NANOSCALE CELLULAR STRUCTURE AND ORGANELLES WILL BE DETERMINED USING CRYO-VEM AND CRYO-ET. THE DATASETS, PROTOCOLS, AND ANALYTICAL PIPELINES GENERATED THROUGH THIS RESEARCH WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AND THE PUBLIC THROUGH PUBLIC DATABASES. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL ALSO PROVIDE UNIQUE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SEVERAL STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS, TRAINING THEM IN STATE-OF-THE PLANT STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY, MUCH DESIRED EXPERTISE IN THE SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

MECHANISTIC ROLES OF DNA POLYMERASE DELTA SUBUNIT 1 IN RESISTANCE TO DNA GEMINIVIRUSES -CASSAVA IS AN IMPORTANT CROP FOR SMALL, MEDIUM, AND LARGE-SCALE FARMERS. IT IS A HARDY PLANT THAT CAN BE GROWN WITHOUT IRRIGATION, FERTILIZER OR PESTICIDES AND IS HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE EVEN WHEN GROWN ON MARGINAL LAND. AS SUCH, IT IS LIKELY TO BECOME AN EVEN MORE IMPORTANT CROP IN THE FACE OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE. CASSAVA MOSAIC DISEASE (CMD) IS A DEVASTATING DISEASE OF CASSAVA ACROSS THE AFRICAN CONTINENT AND HAS RECENTLY SPREAD TO ASIA. SOME VARIETIES OF CASSAVA HAVE NATURAL GENETIC RESISTANCE TO CMD AND THE GENE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS RESISTANCE WAS RECENTLY IDENTIFIED. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT YET UNDERSTOOD HOW THE RESISTANCE WORKS. WITH HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DEPENDING ON THIS ONE SOURCE OF RESISTANCE TO A DEVASTATING PATHOGEN, A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISM BEHIND THE RESISTANCE IS DESIRED. THIS RESEARCH WILL REVEAL THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF RESISTANCE AND TEST WHETHER THIS TYPE OF RESISTANCE CAN PROTECT DIVERSE AND IMPORTANT CROPS FROM OTHER VIRUS PATHOGENS. IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS RESEARCH WILL LEAD TO SUSTAINABLE AND EFFECTIVE DISEASE CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR MANY IMPORTANT CROPS SUCH AS TOMATO AND COTTON. THROUGHOUT THE RESEARCH, TRAINING WILL BE PROVIDED FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS RESEARCH WILL BE SHARED WITH SOCIETY THROUGH A VARIETY OF PUBLIC LECTURES, OUTREACH EVENTS AND YOUTUBE VIDEOS EXPLAINING THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS SPECIFIC PROJECT TARGETED AT NON-SCIENTIST AUDIENCES. CMD IS CAUSED BY SPECIES OF DNA GEMINIVIRUSES. THE CMD RESISTANCE WAS TRACKED TO SPECIFIC AMINO ACID CHANGES WITHIN THE DNA POLYMERASE DELTA SUBUNIT 1 (POLD1) PROTEIN. VIRUSES ARE FANTASTICALLY EFFECTIVE AT OVERCOMING HOST RESISTANCE MECHANISMS AND YET THIS RESISTANCE TRAIT HAS BEEN STABLE FOR DECADES. FURTHER, SEVERAL RESISTANT CULTIVARS OF CASSAVA ARE PERICLINAL CHIMERAS WITH THE RESISTANCE ALLELE PRESENT IN ONLY SPECIFIC CELL LAYERS. WHY THIS RESISTANCE IS SO STABLE AND HOW IT CAN FUNCTION IN THE CONTEXT OF A PERICLINAL CHIMERA, IS NOT YET CLEAR. WHILE SOME OF THE IDENTIFIED POLD1 MUTATIONS ARE NOVEL, OTHERS HAVE BEEN OBSERVED IN YEAST AND RESULT IN DECREASED DNA REPLICATION FIDELITY, POINTING TOWARDS A POSSIBLE FUNCTIONAL MECHANISM. TRANSIENT ASSAYS WILL BE USED TO TEST THIS AND OTHER CANDIDATE MECHANISTIC HYPOTHESES. THESE INCLUDE CHARACTERIZING VIRAL REPLICATION RATES AND FIDELITY OF THE DIFFERENT POLD1 ALLELES, INTERACTION WITH CANDIDATE VIRAL AND HOST CO-FACTORS AND PROTEIN CRYSTALLOGRAPHY. BEYOND CASSAVA, THIS RESEARCH MAY YIELD NEW RESISTANCE STRATEGIES FOR OTHER IMPORTANT CROPS. A RESISTANT POLD1 ALLELE WILL BE TRANSFORMED INTO THE MODEL SYSTEM ARABIDOPSIS, TO DIRECTLY TEST IF THIS RESISTANCE MECHANISM IS EFFECTIVE IN A DISTINCT PATHOSYSTEM. IN ADDITION, EXPLORATION OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE GENOMIC DATA SUGGESTS THAT SIMILAR ALLELES EXIST IN GERMPLASM COLLECTIONS FROM TOMATO, COTTON, AND SEVERAL OTHER IMPORTANT CROPS. THE RELEVANT GERMPLASM HAS BEEN OBTAINED AND WILL BE CHALLENGED WITH THE RESPECTIVE VIRAL PATHOGENS THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

"OPTIMIZATION OF BIOFUEL PRODUCTION FROM TRANSGENIC MICROALGAE", 2 JUN 08

EDGE: HIGH EFFICIENCY IDENTIFICATION OF PRODUCTS OF HOMOLOGOUS RECOMBINATION IN PLANTS AS A TOOL TO TEST GENE FUNCTION

INTEGRATION OF DEVELOPMENTAL SIGNALS BY PLANT ARGONAUTES

DISSECTING THE TRIGGER OF THE CHROMATIN MODIFICATION CYCLE -THE LIVING WORLD FUNCTIONS THROUGH FEED-FORWARD AND FEED-BACK CYCLES, ESTABLISHING SELF-PERPETUATING PATTERNS THAT CAN PERSIST OVER VAST TIMESCALES. A MAJOR QUESTION THAT REMAINS UNANSWERED IS HOW SELF-PERPETUATING BIOLOGICAL CYCLES ARE FIRST INITIATED. THIS PROJECT HAS THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING ABLE TO TRIGGER ONE SUCH CYCLE REPRODUCIBLY, GENERATING A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND HOW A BIOLOGICAL CYCLE IS ORIGINALLY INITIATED. THIS PROJECT USES CUTTING-EDGE TECHNIQUES TO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISM OF THE FIRST TRIGGER RESPONSIBLE FOR INITIATING A FEED-FORWARD CYCLE THAT REGULATES DNA NEWLY INTRODUCED INTO PLANT CELLS. BY PLACING NEW DNA INTO CELLS, THIS PROJECT WILL EXPERIMENTALLY DISSECT THE MECHANISM OF THE EARLIEST STAGES INITIATING REGULATION. THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL INFORM ACADEMICS AND INDUSTRY ON HOW TO IMPROVE PLANTS WHILE AVOIDING THE INITIATION OF TROUBLESOME CYCLES OF UNWANTED REGULATION. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO DIRECTLY TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS, PROVIDING THEM WITH THOROUGH MENTORING TO PREPARE THEM FOR CAREERS IN BIOLOGY, DATA ANALYSIS AND TECHNOLOGY. IN ADDITION, THIS PROJECT WILL PERFORM OUTREACH TO A NEW AUDIENCE AT THE JACKIE JOYNER KERSEE CENTER IN EAST ST. LOUIS. THIS PROGRAM WILL BENEFIT GROUPS THAT HAVE TRADITIONALLY NOT SEEN THEMSELVES AS ELIGIBLE FOR A CAREER IN SCIENCE DUE TO LACK OF REPRESENTATIVE MODELS IN SCIENCE, AND IS PERFECTLY SUITED FOR THE AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS RUN BY THE JACKIE JOYNER KERSEE CENTER. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS IS AN ESSENTIAL FIRST STEP THAT LEADS TO THE LONG-TERM HERITABLE EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENTS AND SOME TRANSGENES. ONCE INITIATED, CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS SUCH AS CYTOSINE DNA METHYLATION, ARE REPLICATED AND, IN PLANTS, CAN BE PROPAGATED AT SPECIFIC LOCI ACROSS GENERATIONS FOR CENTURIES. HOWEVER, THE MECHANISMS DICTATING HOW DNA METHYLATION IS FIRST TARGETED TO A LOCUS IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. THE PRELIMINARY DATA IN SUPPORT OF THIS PROJECT INVOLVED BUILDING THE TOOLS TO STUDY THE FIRST ROUND OF NEW (DE NOVO) CHROMATIN MODIFICATION, AND THESE DATA DEMONSTRATE THAT THE PRODUCTION OF SCAFFOLDING, NON-CODING RNAS AT A LOCUS IS THE KEY, MILESTONE EVENT REQUIRED FOR DE NOVO DNA METHYLATION. THIS KIND OF EVENT CAN BE BEST STUDIED IN PLANTS DUE TO THE RECRUITMENT OF A SPECIFIC RNA POLYMERASE (POL V) TO GENERATE THESE SCAFFOLD RNAS. THE OVERARCHING GOALS OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO UNDERSTAND HOW SCAFFOLD RNA TARGET REGIONS ARE SELECTED AND HOW POL V IS FIRST RECRUITED DURING DE NOVO DNA METHYLATION. THIS WORK UTILIZES CUTTING-EDGE TECHNIQUES TO DISSECT, AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL, AN UNKNOWN MECHANISM RESPONSIBLE FOR ESTABLISHING DE NOVO DNA METHYLATION AND TRIGGERING THE LONG-TERM BIOLOGICAL CYCLE OF HERITABLE, EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENTS AND TRANSGENES. THIS PROJECT IS CO-FUNDED BY THE GENETIC MECHANISMS PROGRAM IN THE MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOSCIENCES DIVISION AND BY THE PLANT GENOME RESEARCH PROGRAM IN THE INTEGRATIVE ORGANISMAL SYSTEMS DIVISION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** A MAJOR BOTTLENECK IN OUR ABILITY TO IMPROVE CROPS IS A GAP IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW GENETICS AND ENVIRONMENT INTERACT TO PRODUCE PLANT PHENOTYPES. PLANT PHENOMICS AIMS TO REDUCE THIS BOTTLENECK BY DEVELOPING IMAGING/REMOTE SENSING AND COMPUTATIONAL APPROACHES TO NON-DESTRUCTIVELY MEASURE AND MODEL PLANT PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES IN HIGH THROUGHPUT AND AT HIGH TEMPORAL RESOLUTION. THIS IS AN INHERENTLY TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN APPROACH, SO THE PLANT PHENOMICS COMMUNITY DRAWS ON EXPERTISE FROM THE BIOLOGICAL/AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, COMPUTER AND DATA SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, STATISTICS, AND MATHEMATICS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS IN DATA ACQUISITION, DATA MANAGEMENT AND COMPUTING INFRASTRUCTURE, AND DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION. WHILE EXTRACTION OF INFORMATION FROM MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF IMAGE AND SENSOR DATA IS STILL A GROWING AREA OF RESEARCH IN PLANT AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, AN ABUNDANCE OF ALGORITHMS FOR INFORMATION EXTRACTION FROM THESE DATA TYPES EXISTS FROM THE COMPUTER SCIENCE, GEOSPATIAL, MEDICAL, AND OTHER COMMUNITIES. IN PARTICULAR, THE AVAILABILITY OF IMAGE AND OTHER DATASETS ON THE INTERNET HAS LED TO A SURGE IN METHODS TO MINE INFORMATION FROM THESE MASSIVE DATASETS. HOWEVER, WHILE THESE ALGORITHMS CAN BE LEVERAGED FOR PLANT PHENOTYPING PROBLEMS, SEVERAL COMMON PROBLEMS WITH IMPLEMENTING THEM IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH EXIST. FIRST, MOST IMAGE ANALYSIS TOOLS AND ALGORITHMS WERE DESIGNED OR TRAINED TO WORK WITH IMAGES OF PEOPLE, CARS, BUILDINGS, AND OTHER ANTHROPOCENTRIC SCENERY. SECOND, THESE ALGORITHMS ARE IMPLEMENTED SEPARATELY IN A VARIETY OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES AND PLATFORMS THAT MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR A NON-SPECIALIST TO USE FOR ANOTHER PURPOSE OR TO INTEGRATE WITH OTHER METHODS (INTEROPERABILITY). FINALLY, NEW ALGORITHMS ARE PRODUCED AT SUCH A RAPID PACE THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO DISCERN THE STATE-OF-THE-ART OR MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT WHICH METHODS TO TRY AT ANY GIVEN POINT IN TIME. THROUGH THIS ALLIANCE OF PLANT PHENOTYPING SOFTWARE (APPS) DEVELOPERSCOORDINATED INNOVATION NETWORK, WE HOPE TO COORDINATE EFFORTS BY: 1) BRINGING TOGETHER DEVELOPERS OF EXISTING PLANT PHENOTYPING SOFTWARE TO MAKE TOOLS INTEROPERABLE; 2) BRINGING TOGETHER A MULTIDISCIPLINARY GROUP OF RESEARCHERS TO DEVELOP ALGORITHMS THAT WILL EXTRACT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM EXISTING AGRICULTURAL DATA AND DEVELOP TOOLS THAT TACKLE CURRENT BOTTLENECKS IN AGRICULTURAL DATA ANALYSIS; 3) INTEGRATING EXISTING 'STAND-ALONE' TOOLS/ALGORITHMS FOR PLANT PHENOTYPING INTO SUSTAINABLE OPEN-SOURCE TOOLS FOR THE COMMUNITY; 4) ESTABLISHING A SUSTAINABLE NETWORK OF PHENOTYPING SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS AND USERS THAT PROMOTES REPRODUCIBLE RESEARCH AND REUSABLE AND EXTENSIBLE SOFTWARE; AND 5) ENGAGING PHENOMICS SOFTWARE USERS AND DEVELOPERS FROM THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR THROUGH HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS, TUTORIALS, AND NETWORK EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES. TO BE CLEAR, OUR AIM IS NOT TO BUILD A SINGLE MONOLITHIC SOFTWARE PACKAGE THAT CONSUMES ALL OTHERS. RATHER, THIS NETWORK WILL INTEGRATE TOOLS WHERE IT MAKES SENSE AND WILL CONNECT TOOLS WHEN IT MAKES SENSE TO KEEP THEM AS SEPARATE ENTITIES. ULTIMATELY, WE WANT THE NETWORK TO BUILD AN ECOSYSTEM THAT INCENTIVIZES SOFTWARE TOOLS THAT ENHANCE REPRODUCIBLE RESEARCH AND OPEN PUBLISHING OF CODE AND DATASETS.

PIVOTS: PIVOTING TO PLANTS (P2P): EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAM APPLYING IMAGING AND DATA SCIENCE TOOLS FROM CELLS TO FIELDS -THE PROJECT PIVOTING TO PLANTS (P2P) IS IMPORTANT TO TRAINING A SKILLED, DIVERSE WORKFORCE IN PLANT BIOLOGY AND DATA SCIENCE. IN THIS PROJECT, P2P FELLOWS WITH COMMUNITY COLLEGE OR UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES ARE SELECTED TO ?PIVOT? TO THE FIELD OF PLANT SCIENCE/DATA SCIENCE FROM OTHER GENERAL AREAS OF INTEREST AND GAIN HANDS-ON TRAINING AND MENTORSHIP. THE 1-YEAR FELLOWSHIP AT THE DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER INCLUDES AUTHENTIC RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF PLANT SCIENCES, FIELD TRIPS TO COMPANIES, PARTICIPATION IN A REGIONAL CONFERENCE, AND A FINAL PRESENTATION OF THE FELLOW PROJECTS, WHICH PREPARES FELLOWS FOR JOBS IN INDUSTRY OR FOR FURTHER GRADUATE EDUCATION. FELLOWS WILL ALSO GAIN TRAINING IN MENTORSHIP AND LEADERSHIP BY AIDING IN MENTORSHIP OF UNDERGRADUATE INTERNS AT THE END OF THEIR FELLOWSHIP PERIOD. ALL PROJECTS WILL FOCUS ON USING COMPUTER SCIENCE AND IMAGING, FROM THE SCALE OF MICROSCOPIC CELLS, UP THROUGH SATELLITE IMAGES OF CROP FIELDS, EQUIPPING PARTICIPANTS WITH CUTTING-EDGE AND TRANSFERABLE SKILL SETS IN DATA SCIENCE. THE PIVOTING TO PLANTS (P2P) EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAM WILL TRAIN PARTICIPANTS IN ADVANCED IMAGING, IMAGE ANALYSIS, AND DATA SCIENCE TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE UTILIZED FOR MEASURING PLANT PHENOTYPES AT THE CELLULAR, WHOLE PLANT, AND FIELD SCALES. THE P2P PROGRAM AIMS TO UPSKILL RECENT GRADUATES OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS FROM UNDER-RESOURCED INSTITUTIONS IN THE ST. LOUIS REGION THROUGH A 1-YEAR PAID FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM AT THE DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER. EACH YEAR, FIVE P2P FELLOWS WILL WORK WITH A DOMAIN EXPERT AND THEIR TEAM ON A PHENOMICS-BASED RESEARCH PROJECT TAILORED TO THEIR INTERESTS AND CAREER GOALS. IN ADDITION TO RESEARCH, FELLOWS WILL RECEIVE ADDITIONAL TRAINING IN PHENOMICS-RELATED TECHNOLOGIES AND TECHNIQUES THROUGH HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS DEVELOPED FOR THE P2P PROGRAM, AS WELL AS OTHER PROFESSIONAL SKILLS (E.G., MENTORING AND SCIENCE COMMUNICATION). THE PROGRAM WILL BE EVALUATED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS INCLUDING METRICS ON RESEARCH-RELATED OUTPUTS, SURVEY-BASED ASSESSMENTS, AND FORMAL EXTERNAL EVALUATION. A SUCCESSFUL P2P FELLOWS PROGRAM WILL PIVOT RECENT COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY GRADUATES INTO CAREERS THAT UTILIZE ADVANCED IMAGING, GEOSPATIAL SCIENCE, IMAGE ANALYSIS, DATA SCIENCE, AND SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT. AS PART OF THE P2P PROGRAM, FELLOWS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE THEIR GAINED EXPERTISE BY SHARING THEIR KNOWLEDGE WITH OTHERS. FIRST, FELLOWS WILL DESIGN THEIR OWN OUTREACH ACTIVITY TO BE PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC DURING OUR ANNUAL PLANTTECH JAM OUTREACH EVENT. SECOND, FELLOWS WILL WRITE A SHORT WEEKLY SOCIAL MEDIA POST TO COMMUNICATE THEIR RESEARCH TO A WIDER AUDIENCE. FINALLY, P2P FELLOWS WILL CO-MENTOR REU STUDENTS IN THE LAST QUARTER OF THEIR FELLOWSHIP AND WILL PRESENT THEIR OWN RESEARCH AT A RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM ATTENDED BY LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS (INCLUDING INDUSTRY). COLLECTIVELY, PEER MENTORING AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES WILL CONTRIBUTE TO COHORT COHESION AND UPSKILL PARTICIPANTS TOWARDS THEIR INDIVIDUAL CAREER GOALS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

SMALL PLANT-DERIVED PEPTIDES WITH POTENT ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY AGAINST AGRICULTURALLY IMPORTANT FUNGAL PATHOGENS HAVE HIGH POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT AS ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY, SUSTAINABLE BIOFUNGICIDES. CHICKPEA PEPTIDES EXPRESSED IN NITROGEN-FIXING NODULES EXHIBIT POTENT ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY AGAINST PATHOGENS. IT IS IMPORTANT TO DETERMINE IF THESE PEPTIDES PROVIDE PROTECTION FROM DISEASE WHEN SPRAYED ON A CROP PLANT AND UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH THEY KILL A FUNGAL PATHOGEN.THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THE WORK IS TO CHARACTERIZE ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF THREE DIFFERENT PEPTIDES DERIVED FROM CHICKPEA, DETERMINE HOW THEY KILL A FUNGAL PATHOGEN AND TEST THEIR ABILITY TO PROTECT PEPPER PLANTS FROM A FUNGAL PATHOGEN BOTRYTIS CINEREA WHICH CAUSES GRAY MOLD DISEASE IN VEGETABLE AND FRUITS.WE WILL (I) IDENTIFY MOLECULES IN THE FUNGAL CELL WALL THAT ANTIFUNGAL PEPTIDES BIND TO, (II) DETERMINE HOW THESE PEPTIDES GET INTO FUNGAL CELLS AND CAUSE CELL DEATH, (III) DETERMINE HOW THREE DIFFERENT PEPTIDES DIFFER IN THEIR STRUCTURES AND ABILITY TO PROTECT PEPPER PLANTS FROM THE GRAY MOLD DISEASE.THIS PROJECT WILL IDENTIFY PEPTIDES WITH POTENT ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY AND SHED LIGHT ON THEIR MECHANISMS OF ACTION. IT WILL PROVIDE CRUCIAL INFORMATION FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THESE PEPTIDES AS SECOND-GENERATION SPRAYABLE FUNGICIDES.THIS PROJECT WILL EXPAND OUR KNOWLEDGE OF PLANT-DERIVED ANTIFUNGAL PEPTIDES WITH MECHANISM OF ACTION DIFFERENT FROM CONVENTIONAL FUNGICIDES AND IDENTIFY SPECIFIC PEPTIDES WITH POTENTIAL FOR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT AS SUSTAINABLE BIO-FUNGICIDES.

DS REGIONAL MUTAGENESIS: A PLATFORM FOR DEFINING GENE FUNCTION IN MAIZE

MRI: ACQUISITION OF AN ORBITRAP LUMOS MASS SPECTROMETER FOR PLANT PROTEOMICS AND LIPIDOMICS

EVOLUTION AND MECHANISM OF A CONSERVED REGULATORY SWITCH FOR MATING-TYPES AND SEXES IN VOLVOCINE GREEN ALGAE -SEX AND RECOMBINATION ARE INTEGRAL TO LIFE CYCLES AND REPRODUCTION ACROSS THE KINGDOM OF EUKARYOTES THAT INCLUDES ANIMALS, PLANTS, FUNGI, SEAWEEDS AND MANY SINGLE-CELLED ALGAE AND OTHER PROTISTS. A HALLMARK OF EUKARYOTIC SEX INVOLVES GENETIC SYSTEMS SUCH AS SEX CHROMOSOMES OR MATING TYPE GENES TO ENSURE THAT MATINGS INVOLVE INDIVIDUALS WITH TWO DISTINCT MATING TYPES OR SEXES. HOWEVER, OUTSIDE OF ANIMALS, FUNGI, AND A FEW OTHER TAXA, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW SEXES AND MATING TYPES ARE DETERMINED OR HOW MALE AND FEMALE SEXES EVOLVED IN MULTICELLULAR SPECIES FROM SINGLE-CELLED ANCESTORS WITH MATING TYPES. VOLVOCINE GREEN ALGAE ARE A UNIQUE GROUP OF RELATIVES THAT INCLUDE SINGLE CELLED AND SMALL COLONIAL SPECIES WITH MATING TYPES, AND LARGER MORE COMPLEX SPECIES WITH SEXES AND SEX CHROMOSOMES; BUT THEY ALL SHARE A COMMON GENETIC SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING GAMETE DIFFERENTIATION. UNDER THIS PROPOSAL VOLVOCINE ALGAE WILL BE INVESTIGATED TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE GENETIC SYSTEMS GOVERNING MATING TYPES WERE MODIFIED IN THE EVOLUTIONARY TRANSITION TO SEXES. IMPORTANTLY, THE GENETIC MACHINERY THAT CONTROLS SEXES AND MATING TYPES IN VOLVOCINE ALGAE IS AT LEAST PARTLY SHARED WITH OTHER GROUPS OF GREEN ALGAE AND THEIR LAND PLANT COUSINS. THUS, THE KNOWLEDGE OBTAINED FROM THIS PROPOSAL CAN IMPACT THE UNDERSTANDING OF SEX DETERMINATION IN A WIDE RANGE OF SPECIES IN THE PLANT KINGDOM AND MAY BE FURTHER LEVERAGED FOR BREEDING AND STRAIN IMPROVEMENT IN EMERGING ALGAL CROP SPECIES THAT ARE USED TO MAKE HIGH VALUE BIOPRODUCTS OR BIOFUELS. ANCESTRAL EUKARYOTES WERE SINGLE CELLS WITH ISOGAMOUS SEXUAL REPRODUCTION. HOWEVER, IN NEARLY EVERY LINEAGE WHERE COMPLEX MULTICELLULARITY EVOLVED, SO DID DIMORPHIC SEXES?A TRANSITION WHOSE ORIGINS AND MECHANISMS REMAIN POORLY UNDERSTOOD. VOLVOCINE GREEN ALGAE (CHLAMYDOMONAS REINHARDTII, VOLVOX CARTERI, AND RELATIVES) ARE A UNIQUELY TRACTABLE MODEL FOR INVESTIGATING THE GENETIC NETWORKS GOVERNING SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION AND THE EVOLUTION OF DIMORPHIC SEXES. THE CONSERVED TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR (TF) MID IS A DOMINANT SPECIFIER OF MINUS OR MALE GAMETE DIFFERENTIATION IN VOLVOCINE ALGAE; BUT THE FACTOR(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR BASAL SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION AS PLUS OR FEMALE HAVE REMAINED UNKNOWN. UNDER THIS PROPOSAL A NEWLY DISCOVERED TF, VSR1, THAT IS ESSENTIAL FOR DIFFERENTIATION OF BOTH GAMETE TYPES AND SEXES IN VOLVOCINE ALGAE WILL BE INVESTIGATED. A NEW MODEL WHERE COMPETING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN VSR1 HOMODIMERS AND MID-VSR1 HETERODIMERS FORM A BINARY SWITCH FOR SEX OR MATING TYPE DETERMINATION WILL BE TESTED AND REFINED, AND THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING EXPANSION AND DIVERGENCE OF THE MID/VSR1 GENE REGULATORY NETWORKS (GRNS) DURING THE TRANSITION TO OOGAMY WILL BE EXPLORED. SPECIFIC AIMS ARE DESIGNED TO 1) ELUCIDATE AND COMPARE THE GENE EXPRESSION PROGRAMS FOR GAMETOGENESIS THAT ARE GOVERNED BY MID AND VSR1 IN KEY ISOGAMOUS AND OOGAMOUS VOLVOCINE REPRESENTATIVES; 2) DETERMINE THE BASES FOR MID-VSR1 PHYSICAL INTERACTIONS AND HOW THE TWO TFS CO-EVOLVED DURING DIVERSIFICATION OF THE VOLVOCINE LINEAGE; 3) IDENTIFY THE DNA BINDING SPECIFICITY AND DIRECT TARGETS OF VSR1 AND MID IN KEY VOLVOCINE REPRESENTATIVES TO ENABLE MODELING OF SEX-RELATED GRN EVOLUTION AND TESTING OF HYPOTHESES ABOUT GRN EXPANSION IN VOLVOX. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

ELUCIDATING THE TRIGGERS OF DE NOVO INITIATION OF EPIGENETIC SILENCING IN PLANTS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF LTQ-ORBITRAP HIGH RESOLUTION MASS SPECTROMETER

INTEGRATION AND MODULARITY IN GRASS DIVERSIFICATION

MECHANISMS AND EVOLUTIONARY ORIGINS OF GERM-SOMA SPECIFICATION IN A MULTICELLULAR GREEN ALGA, VOLVOX CARTERI

TOWARDS A VACCINE FOR THE COMMON COLD

COLLABORATIVE PROJECT: REGULATION OF SUSTAINED CYCLIC ELECTRON FLOW (CEF) IN THE PHOTOPSYCHROPHILE CHLAMYDOMONAS SP. UWO241

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: TR-TECH-PGR / PLANTSYNBIO: INTRAGENIC GENOME ENGINEERING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF IMPROVED PLANTS -FOR MANY YEARS, NEW CROP VARIETIES WITH IMPROVED TRAITS LIKE GRAIN YIELD AND DISEASE RESISTANCE WERE DEVELOPED THROUGH CONVENTIONAL PLANT BREEDING PROGRAMS. IN RECENT YEARS, SUCCESSFUL TRANSGENIC EFFORTS WERE ADOPTED TO ADD BENEFICIAL DNA FROM OTHER SPECIES INTO PLANTS FOR RESEARCH AND/OR CROP IMPROVEMENT, LEADING TO INCREASED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES. FOR EXAMPLE, MOST ROW CROPS, SUCH AS SOYBEAN AND CORN, POSSESS BENEFICIAL TRANSGENIC DNA THAT MAKES THEM RESISTANT TO INSECT PESTS AND/OR HERBICIDE SPRAY, THEREBY VASTLY IMPROVING THE CROP YIELD FOR FOOD AND FEEDSTOCK SECURITY. DEVELOPING AND RELEASING TRANSGENIC CROPS REQUIRES A LARGE AMOUNT OF TIME, EFFORT, AND COSTS, IN ADDITION TO GOING THROUGH SAFETY TRIALS AND DEREGULATION PROCESSES. THIS CAUSES AN ALMOST DECADE-LONG LAG BETWEEN SCOPING THE CHALLENGE TO IMPROVE A CROP TRAIT AND MAKING IT READY FOR ADOPTION BY FARMERS. THEREFORE, TO ACCELERATE CROP IMPROVEMENT BY CONVENTIONAL PLANT BREEDING-BASED APPROACHES AND AVOID REGULATORY AND SOCIAL/GLOBAL-LEVEL RELUCTANCE TO ADOPT TRANSGENIC CROPS DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF FOREIGN DNA IN A GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROP PLANT, THE TEAM PROPOSES AN INTRAGENIC APPROACH BY ADJUSTING, COMBINING AND TRANSFERRING THE DESIRED DNA ELEMENT SOURCED FROM THE SAME PLANT SPECIES FOR IMPROVING CROP TRAITS. THIS INTRAGENIC APPROACH FACES SIGNIFICANTLY LESS REGULATORY BURDEN, AVOIDS CONSUMER RELUCTANCE AND WILL DELIVER FASTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FROM THE LABORATORY TO THE FIELD. THE RESEARCH DEVELOPS NEW BIOTECHNOLOGY THAT WILL IMPACT THE BIOECONOMY AND IMPROVE PRODUCTION OF CRITICAL FOOD CROPS. TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENTS (TES) ARE MOBILE DNA FRAGMENTS THAT NATURALLY RESHUFFLE PARTS OF THE GENOMES. RESEARCHERS HAVE DEVELOPED GENETIC TOOLS TO CONTROL THE TE ACTIVITY, INSERTION SITE, CARGO SIZE (USER-DEFINED SEQUENCES DELIVERED BY THE TE), AND THE TIMING OF TE INSERTION. SUCH GENOME ENGINEERING DELIVERS A CARGO DNA RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPROVING TRAITS, E.G. DISEASE RESISTANCE, BY INSERTING IT AT A TARGETED POSITION IN THE PLANT GENOME BUT FLANKED BY TE SEQUENCES. HOWEVER, SUCH ENGINEERING LEADS TO THE INSERTION AT ONE TO MANY OFF-TARGET SITES IN THE GENOME. OFTEN, THESE INSERTIONS TEND TO UNDERGO SILENCING OR BECOME NON-FUNCTIONAL AFTER A FEW GENERATIONS. SUCH TRANSGENIC APPROACHES HAVE SOURCED TES FROM ANOTHER SPECIES. TO AVOID THE TRANSGENIC APPROACH, THE PROJECT TEAM PROPOSED A NEW INTRAGENIC TECHNOLOGY BASED ON TES SOURCED FROM THE SAME PLANT SPECIES AND ENGINEERED TO DELIVER LARGE CUSTOM CARGO DNA ALSO SOURCED FROM THE SAME SPECIES. THEY ALSO PROPOSED TO IMPROVE PRECISE INSERTION AT A DESIRED LOCATION IN THE GENOME WITHOUT ADDITIONAL OFF-TARGET INSERTIONS. THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY, CALLED TRANSPOSASE-ASSISTED HOMOLOGY-INDEPENDENT TARGETED INSERTION (TAHITI), WILL BE EXPERIMENTED ON RICE PLANTS. THE TEAM WILL EXAMINE THE RATE OF TARGETED INSERTION AND THE OFF-TARGET RATES AND SELECTIVELY REGULATE THE ACTIVITY OF THE RELATED ENDOGENOUS TES. THEY ALSO PLAN TO IDENTIFY ACTIVE TES IN THE ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT CROPS MAIZE AND SOYBEAN FOR FUTURE ADOPTION OF INTRAGENIC APPROACHES IN THESE CROPS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

REGULATORY MECHANISMS OF PLANT HETEROTRIMERIC G-PROTEIN SIGNALING

EQUIPMENT: MRI: TRACK1 ACQUISITION OF A ZEISS LSM980 AIRYSCAN CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE FOR PLANT RESEARCH -THE DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER (DDPSC) HAS RECEIVED A GRANT TO PURCHASE A ZEISS LSM 990 AIRYSCAN CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE. THIS ADVANCED TOOL WILL BENEFIT SEVERAL ONGOING RESEARCH PROJECTS AND OFFER NEW WAYS FOR THE BROADER SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY TO STUDY PLANTS THROUGH THE CENTER?S ADVANCED BIOIMAGING LABORATORY (ABL). THE NEW MICROSCOPE WILL ALSO BE USED TO TRAIN SCIENTISTS AT ALL LEVELS OF THEIR CAREERS. THE CENTER PLANS TO CONTINUE ITS STRONG HISTORY OF MENTORSHIP BY INVOLVING HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS IN IMAGING PROJECTS, HOSTING TEACHER WORKSHOPS, AND CONNECTING RESEARCHERS WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS. BY WORKING WITH THIS STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY, GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS WILL GAIN HIGH-DEMAND SKILLS NECESSARY FOR THE MODERN WORKFORCE AND THE FUTURE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE. THE INTEGRATION OF THE ZEISS LSM 990 SYSTEM INTO THE DDPSC?S ADVANCED BIOIMAGING LABORATORY INTRODUCES SEVERAL CRITICAL FUNCTIONALITIES, MOST NOTABLY PARALLEL SPECTRAL IMAGING AND HIGH-SPEED, HIGH-RESOLUTION MODALITIES. THESE FEATURES, ALONG WITH AUTOMATED HIGH-THROUGHPUT CAPABILITIES FOR MULTI-WELL PLATE EXPERIMENTS, ALLOW FOR THE PRECISE QUANTIFICATION OF CELLULAR MOLECULAR MOVEMENT. THIS TECHNOLOGICAL LEAP WILL PROVIDE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT TO OVER TWENTY FEDERALLY AND PRIVATELY FUNDED RESEARCH INITIATIVES LED BY THIRTEEN PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS. THE IMPACT OF THIS SYSTEM EXTENDS BEYOND THE DDPSC, FOSTERING COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI (SAINT LOUIS AND COLUMBIA) AND THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN. BY ENABLING ADVANCED INVESTIGATIONS INTO TOPICS RANGING FROM MICROBIAL INTERACTIONS AND STRESS RESPONSES TO NUCLEAR STRUCTURE AND PROTEIN LOCALIZATION, THE LSM 990 SERVES AS A CORNERSTONE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEXT-GENERATION IMAGING APPLICATIONS SPECIFICALLY TAILORED TO THE PLANT SCIENCES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

ERA-CAPS: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ROLE OF EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES IN PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS

METABOLIC MODELING OF CARBON PARTITIONING UNDER THE CONTROL OF INOSITOL POLYPHOSPHATE SIGNALING

ROLE OF POSTTRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS IN CONTROLLING THE SPECIFICITY OF RESPONSE REGULATION -THE INFORMATION ENCODED IN THE GENES OF AN ORGANISM IS ULTIMATELY DECODED AS PROTEINS, WHICH BY ACTING AS KEY ENZYMES, BUILDING BLOCKS OF A CELL, TRANSPORTERS, OR RECEPTORS, PERFORM ALMOST ALL CELLULAR FUNCTIONS. PROTEINS ARE MADE OF A PERMUTATION OF 20 DISTINCT AMINO ACIDS, THE SEQUENCE OF WHICH IS DETERMINED BY THE NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE OF GENES. MOST OF THESE AMINO ACIDS CAN BE COVALENTLY MODIFIED AFTER THEIR TRANSLATION, RESULTING IN MULTIPLE, UNIQUE PROTEOFORMS OF A SINGLE PROTEIN WITH DISTINCT FUNCTION. THE POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS (PTMS) ARE THUS NATURE?S WAY OF AMPLIFYING THE INFORMATION ENCODED IN THE GENOME TO PROVIDE DYNAMIC, FLEXIBLE AND POTENTIALLY REVERSIBLE MECHANISMS FOR REGULATING AN ORGANISM?S DEVELOPMENT, PHYSIOLOGY AND SURVIVAL. FOR MULTI-FUNCTIONAL PROTEINS, SPECIFIC PTMS MAY ASSOCIATE WITH EXPLICIT PROTEIN FUNCTION. THEREFORE, COMPREHENSIVE INTERPRETATION OF THE ?PTM CODE? OF AN ORGANISM IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTAND THE GENE TO FUNCTION LINK. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS RESEARCH WILL NOT ONLY FILL MAJOR GAPS IN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF HOW CONTEXT-SPECIFIC PTMS DICTATE THE ROLES OF A PROTEIN IN REGULATION OF DISTINCT RESPONSES, BUT WILL ALSO ADD SIGNIFICANTLY TO ELUCIDATION OF PLANT SIGNALING MECHANISMS, WHICH AFFECT KEY AGRONOMICAL TRAITS. THEREFORE, IN ADDITION TO ADVANCING OUR FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF A COMPLEX BIOLOGICAL CONCEPT, THIS RESEARCH WILL ALSO APPLY BROADLY TO THE PROBLEMS THAT PLAGUE OUR WORLD TODAY: GENERATING HIGHER YIELD WITH LIMITED RESOURCES AND UNFAVORABLE ENVIRONMENTS. THE WORK WILL ALSO INVOLVE THE TRAINING OF A TECHNICIAN, A POSTDOCTORAL SCIENTIST IN A MULTIDISCIPLINARY FIELD AND MENTORING OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. THE RESEARCH WILL HELP PROMOTE AN UNDERSTANDING OF PLANT SCIENCE TO THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND GENERAL PUBLIC VIA A SERIES OF HANDS ON EXPERIMENTS AND INTERACTIVE PRESENTATIONS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DETERMINE THE EXISTENCE OF MULTIPLE, CONTEXT-DEPENDENT PROTEOFORMS OF A SINGLE PROTEIN, THE ARABIDOPSIS HETEROTRIMERIC G? PROTEIN (GPA1) CRITICAL TO G-PROTEIN SIGNALING, AND CONNECT THEM TO SPECIFIC GPA1-REGULATED FUNCTIONS. COMPREHENSIVE INTERPRETATION OF THE POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATION-DEPENDENT ?PROTEIN CODE? OF AN ORGANISM IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTAND THE GENOTYPE TO PHENOTYPE LINK. THIS RESEARCH ADDRESSES SOME OF THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE ROLES OF PTMS SUCH AS (I) HOW SPECIFIC PTMS AFFECT THE CORE PROPERTIES OF A PROTEIN, (II) WHAT ARE THE ORGANISM-LEVEL, CONTEXT-SPECIFIC EFFECTS OF PTMS OF A PROTEIN, AND (III) HOW THIS SPECIFICITY IS ACHIEVED. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS RESEARCH WILL NOT ONLY FILL MAJOR GAPS IN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF REGULATORY ROLES OF PROTEIN PTMS, BUT WILL ALSO GENERATE A KNOWLEDGE BASE SUITABLE FOR OTHER PLANTS (AND METAZOANS), WHERE SIMILAR ANALYSES ARE NOT POSSIBLE DUE TO COMPLEXITY OF THE SYSTEM. IT WILL ALSO HELP FINE-TUNE THE PLANT G-PROTEIN SIGNALING MECHANISMS OF AGRICULTURAL RELEVANCE BECAUSE NATURALLY OCCURRING OR ENGINEERED CHANGES IN G-PROTEINS HAVE PROFOUND EFFECTS ON PLANT ARCHITECTURE, STRESS RESPONSES AND YIELD. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: INTEGRATION OF METABOLIC CUES AND LIFE CYCLE DECISIONS IN CHLAMYDOMONAS

AS FARMERS ATTEMPT TO EVOLVE QUICKLY TO CONFRONT 21ST CENTURY CHALLENGES INCLUDING LEVERAGING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE YIELD AND REDUCE DELETERIOUS IMPACTS FROM CLIMATE CHANGE, SO TOO MUST THE EDUCATION IN THEIR SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. WHILE RURAL COMMUNITIES IN EDUCATION DESERTS AND URBAN COMMUNITIES IN FOOD DESERTS FACE DIFFERENT CHALLENGES AND ARE OFTEN JUXTAPOSED IN THE MEDIA, THEY HAVE SHARED EDUCATIONAL GOALS AND COMPLEMENTARY ENVIRONMENTS THAT HAVE YET TO BE ADEQUATELY LEVERAGED. BOTH RURAL AND URBAN SCHOOLS ARE OFTEN UNDER-RESOURCED, LEAVING GAPS IN STRUCTURED HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES THAT ARE OFTEN FILLED IN BY NON-FORMAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS. WITH PRECISION AGRICULTURE AND VERTICAL FARMING GROWING IN POPULARITY BECAUSE OF THEIR ABILITY TO INCREASE CROP YIELD IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS, RESPECTIVELY, IT IS CLEAR THAT THE NEXT GENERATION OF PLANT GROWERS MUST UNDERSTAND AND EMBRACE THE USE OF PLANT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. OUR FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL NON-FORMAL EDUCATION PROJECT WILL DEVELOP SUMMER PROGRAM CURRICULA THAT INTRODUCES URBAN AND RURAL YOUTH TO AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, FOSTERS COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL YOUTH, AND ENCOURAGES STUDENTS TO DEVELOP CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THEIR COMMUNITY'S CULTURAL WEALTH AND PLANT SCIENCE.THIS PROJECT WILL USE CORN AS THE MODEL SYSTEM TO TRAIN RURAL AND URBAN YOUTH IN AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY, GALVANIZE CROSS-POLLINATION OF IDEAS AND EXPERIENCES BETWEEN THE TWO SUMMER PROGRAMS, AND ITERATIVELY ADJUST THE CURRICULA BASED ON STUDENT INPUT AND IDEAS. THE CURRICULA DEVELOPED WILL BE DESIGNED AND ASSESSED USING THE COMMUNITY CULTURAL WEALTH (CCW) FRAMEWORK (YOSSO 2005). BORNE OUT OF CRITICAL RACE THEORY, CCW PROMOTES THE INTEGRATION OF A PARTICIPANT'S IDENTITY AND CULTURE INTO THEIR EDUCATION INCLUDING NON-FORMAL STEM EDUCATION PROGRAMS (KELLY ET AL. 2019). YOUTH WILL IDENTIFY THE FAMILIAL AND SOCIAL CAPITAL THEY HAVE EARLY DURING THE PROJECT, SHARING THEIR KNOWLEDGE WITH OTHERS. THE YOUTH WILL ALSO BECOME EXPERTS IN THE AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY AND CROP PROBLEMS UNIQUE TO THEIR REGION, VISITING EACH OTHER'S SITE TO LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER AND SHARE THEIR DISCOVERIES. THE MOST SUCCESSFUL AND TRANSFERABLE ASPECTS OF THE CURRICULA WILL BE USED TO DESIGN A SCALABLE PROGRAM FOR OTHER RURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITIES.

FUNCTION OF ARABIDOPSIS SMALL RNA-ARGONAUTE COMPLEXES

DISSECTING THE INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSE MEDIATED BY ARABIDOPSIS NUDIX HYDROLASE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EVOLUTION OF GENETIC NETWORKS IN GRASS ABSCISSION ZONES

REU SITE: RESEARCH EXPERIENCES IN PLANT SCIENCE AT THE DANFORTH CENTER

MRI: ACQUISITION OF FLEXIBLE HIGH-SPEED SUPER-RESOLUTION SYSTEM FOR PLANT RESEARCH

** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** COVER CROPPING HAS BEEN LARGELY CONSIDERED A MAJOR CONSERVATION APPROACH TO IMPROVE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE. WITH CURRENT ADOPTION RATES LOW ACROSS US FARMLANDS, EXTENSIVE INVESTMENTS FROM GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE SECTORS HAVE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED FARMERS TO EMPLOY COVER CROPS. HOWEVER, THE RAPID MOMENTUM FROM THESE INVESTMENTS IS NOT WELL SUPPORTED BY A SUFFICIENT FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE BASE OF COVER CROPPING SUCH THAT WE ARE READY TO SCALE UP ITS ADOPTION WITH MAXIMUM EFFECTIVENESS. A MAJOR BARRIER IS THE LIMITED UNDERSTANDING OF COVER CROP ROOT SYSTEM TRAITS AND THEIR EMPIRICAL EFFECTS ON SOIL AND CASH CROPS, ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE SPECTRUM OF COVER CROP SPECIES DIVERSITY. IN THIS PROJECT WE WILL CONDUCT MULTI-YEAR TRIALS OF TWELVECOVER CROP SPECIES THAT INTEGRATE WITH CORN PRODUCTION, AND USE ROOT PHENOMICS, CUTTING-EDGE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES, AND MACHINE-LEARNING ENABLED AGROECOSYSTEM MODELING TO GAIN AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THE VARIATION FOR ROOT TRAITS THAT EXISTS AMONG DIVERSE COVER CROP SPECIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOILAND CASH CROPS. THE SOCIETAL BENEFIT OF THIS STUDY WILL BE TO UTILIZE OUR ENHANCED UNDERSTANDING OF THESE RELATIONSHIPS TO PROVIDE MORE INFORMED SPECIES SELECTION THAT MAXIMIZES BOTH YIELD AND ECOSYSTEM BENEFITS AND THEREBY SUPPORTS WIDESPREAD ADOPTION OF COVER CROP MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN THE US.

EVOLUTION OF DISPERSAL AND POLLINATION IN ECOLOGICALLY DOMINANT GRASSES

FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS OF TRANSFER CELLS

REGULATING EXPRESSION OF CELL AND TISSUE SPECIFIC GENES BY MODIFYING TRANSCRIPTION

EVOLUTION OF PATHWAYS TO PHARMACEUTICALS IN THE POPPY FAMILY

UNCOVERING THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS THAT UNDERLIE PHOTOPERIODIC CONTROL OF PLANT GROWTH

ANTIMICROBIAL PLANT DEFENSINS:STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS AND MODES OF ACTION

ELUCIDATING STRUCTURE-FUNCTION RELATIONSHIP AND SIGNALING MECHANISMS OF THE NOVEL GROUP III G GAMMA PROTEIN AGG3 IN ARABIDOPSIS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CSSI: FRAMEWORK: DATA: CLOWDER OPEN SOURCE CUSTOMIZABLE RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENT, PLUS-PLUS

EVOLUTIONARY ANALYSIS OF HETEROTRIMERIC G-PROTEIN FUNCTION IN PLANTS

ENZYME ORGANIZATION AND FLUX CONTROL OF THE PHENYLPROPANOID PATHWAY

** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** PLANTS ARE PART OF A COMMUNITY THAT INCLUDES FUNGI, OOMYCETES, BACTERIA, VIRUSES AND OTHER COMPLEX MICROBIOTA. ALTHOUGH THE NUMBER OF MICROBIAL CELLS ON A PLANT OR ANIMAL OFTEN OUTNUMBERS THE HOST'S OWN CELL COUNT BY MANY-FOLD, MICROBES ARE GENERALLY NOT VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE. IT HAS BEEN ESTIMATED THAT A SINGLE GRAM OF SOIL MAY CONTAIN 10 BILLION BACTERIAL CELLS AND PLANT ROOTS CAN HARBOR THOUSANDS OF BACTERIAL SPECIES. WHILE SOME MICROBIAL INTERACTIONS ARE DETRIMENTAL TO PLANT HEALTH, SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH BACTERIA OR FUNGI SUPPLY MINERAL ELEMENTS TO PLANTS AND CAN ALSO PROVIDE TOLERANCE TO VARIOUS ABIOTIC AND BIOTIC STRESSES. CAPITALIZING ON THE BENEFITS OF A HEALTHY MICROBIOME CAN BE TRACED BACK SEVERAL MILLENNIA AND CURRENTLY, HUNDREDS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS ARE BEING SOLD AS 'BENEFICIALS'. HOWEVER, THESE PRODUCTS SHOW INCONSISTENT PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD. NONETHELESS, UNEXPLORED MICROBES REPRESENT ONE OF THE GREATEST UNTAPPED OPPORTUNITIES IN PLANT BIOLOGY. PLANT MICROBIOME RESEARCH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO POSITIVELY IMPACT AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY THAT WILL FEED FUTURE GENERATIONS WHILE MITIGATING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE, RESTORING NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS, AND REDUCING ENERGY INTENSIVE FERTILIZER PRODUCTION. OUR ABILITY TO MANIPULATE THESE COMPLEX ECOSYSTEMS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PLANT AND PLANET IS IN ITS INFANCY.AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY DEPENDS ON INTENSIVE FARMING AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES INCLUDING FERTILIZERS. U.S. FARMERS RELY ON THIS TECHNOLOGY TO MEET YIELD DEMANDS. THIS PROPOSAL WILL PARTIALLY OFFSET FERTILIZER DEMANDS THROUGH PLANT-MICROBE BASED NUTRIENT ACQUISITION. SPECIFICALLY, THIS RESEARCH WILL YIELD NEW STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP MICROBIAL PRODUCTS THAT SHOW ROBUST PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD. THE KEY TO SUCCESS WILL BE DISCOVERING THE FUNDAMENTAL RULES THAT GOVERN COLONIZATION AND PERSISTENCE (C&P) OF BENEFICIAL MICROBES WITH THEIR PLANT HOSTS. IF WE ARE ABLE TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO INCREASE THE C&P OF MICROBIAL BASED PRODUCTS, THIS WILL HELP FARMERS ACHIEVE HIGH YIELDS WITH LESS EXTERNAL INPUTS WHILE ALSO PROTECTING THEIR SOIL HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT. THE LONG-TERM OUTCOME OF THIS RESEARCH WILL BE TO OPTIMALLY REDESIGN PRODUCTION AGRICULTURE THROUGH THE LENS OF THE 'COMMUNITY OF PLAYERS' THAT CAN ENSURE A SUSTAINABLE PLANET.

CAREER: THE ROLE OF CHLOROPLAST SIGNALING IN REGULATING PLASMODESMATA -THIS PROJECT WILL STUDY HOW PLANT CELLS SHARE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES AMONG THEMSELVES, IDENTIFYING POSSIBLE TARGETS AND STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING PLANTS WITH OPTIMIZED NUTRIENT PARTITIONING TO MEET HUMAN NEEDS, WHILE CREATING HANDS-ON LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEAF/HARD-OF-HEARING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE UNDERGRADUATES. IN PLANTS, PORES IN THE CELL WALL ARE CONDUITS FOR NUTRIENT DISTRIBUTION AND SIGNALING DURING PLANT GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND DEFENSE, BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW THESE PORES WORK OR ARE CONTROLLED BY THE REST OF THE CELL. THE RESEARCH WILL INVESTIGATE HOW THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC ORGANELLES IN THE CELL, CHLOROPLASTS, CONTROL THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THESE PORES. THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE EXPERIENCE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AS A MECHANISM FOR IMPROVING LEARNING. THIS WILL INVOLVE STUDENTS WHO ARE TYPICALLY NOT GIVEN THESE OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDING DEAF/HARD-OF-HEARING AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS. THE CURRICULUM OF A SENIOR-LEVEL COURSE WILL ALSO BE RE-DESIGNED TO TRANSFORM IT FROM A TRADITIONAL UPPER-LEVEL BIOLOGY COURSE INTO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING, USING THE RESEARCH AS THE SOURCE OF REAL-LIFE QUESTIONS FOR STUDENT ENGAGEMENT. CYTOPLASMIC PORES IN THE CELL WALLS CALLED PLASMODESMATA (PD) ARE IMPORTANT ROUTES FOR CELL-TO-CELL COMMUNICATION IN PLANTS. THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT CHLOROPLASTS CAN INFLUENCE TRAFFICKING BETWEEN CELLS VIA PD. THE UNDERLYING HYPOTHESIS OF THE RESEARCH IS THAT EXPRESSION OF NUCLEAR GENES THAT AFFECT CELL-TO-CELL COMMUNICATION IN PLANTS IS CONTROLLED BY CHLOROPLASTS VIA SIGNALING TO THE NUCLEUS. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO IDENTIFY THE CHLOROPLAST SIGNALS THAT CHANGE NUCLEAR GENE EXPRESSION, DEFINE THE NUCLEAR GENE NETWORKS AND SIGNALING MODULES THAT ALTER PD STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION AND THEN DETERMINE HOW PD STRUCTURE CHANGE IN RESPONSE TO CHLOROPLAST SIGNALING. THE RESEARCH WILL USE REVERSE GENETICS, BIOINFORMATICS, MOLECULAR AND BIOCHEMICAL APPROACHES, AND STATE-OF-THE-ART MICROSCOPY. THIS WORK WILL LIKELY ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISMS USED FOR INTRACELLULAR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE CHLOROPLAST AND NUCLEAR GENOMES AND PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE CHLOROPLASTS-PD RELATIONSHIP, THEREBY INCREASING UNDERSTANDING OF HOW PLANTS INTEGRATE LOCAL PHYSIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CUES PERCEIVED BY THE CHLOROPLASTS INTO DECISIONS THAT HAVE SYSTEMIC IMPLICATIONS. IMPORTANTLY, THE RESEARCH MAY ALSO IDENTIFY GENES THAT ARE LIKELY IMPORTANT FOR CELL WALL PROCESSES THAT FACILITATE THE FORMATION AND MODIFICATION OF PD. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RESEARCH-PGR: EXTRACELLULAR RNA PRODUCED BY PLANTS: WHAT, WHERE, HOW, WHO, AND WHY?

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: BBSRC-NSF/BIO: AN AUTONOMOUS REGISTRY SYSTEM FOR PLANT MICRORNAS

CURRENT ISSUE: MANY K-14 STUDENTS IN RURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITIES HAVE LITTLE EXPOSURE TO REAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EVEN AS SOCIETY FACES URGENT CHALLENGES LIKEPESTS,DISEASES, AND THE NEED FOR NUTRITIOUSFOOD. ALTHOUGH SOME SCHOOLS NOW HAVE PLANT GROWTH FACILITIES AND AGRICULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE, TEACHERS OFTEN LACK THE SKILLS AND CONFIDENCE TO GUIDE STUDENTS IN HANDS?ON RESEARCH. THIS LEAVES A CRITICAL GAP IN PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION TO UNDERSTAND AND INNOVATE IN AGRICULTURE.APPROACHES AND METHODS: OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR AGRICULTURAL LITERACY PROJECT WILL SUPPORT K-14 STEAM EDUCATORS FROM RURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITIES IN MISSOURI. TEACHERS WILL TAKE PART IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH WORKSHOPS, VISIT LOCAL AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES, AND PARTICIPATE IN MENTORED SUMMER RESEARCH EXPERIENCES. THEY WILL RECEIVE READY?TO?USE CURRICULUM MATERIALS, MINI?GRANTS TO LAUNCH STUDENT?LED PROJECTS, AND JOIN A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE TO SHARE IDEAS AND SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER.EXPECTED IMPACT: BY EQUIPPING TEACHERS WITH SKILLS AND CONFIDENCE, THIS PROJECT WILL HELP BRING AUTHENTIC AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH EXPERIENCES INTO CLASSROOMS AND SCHOOL GREENHOUSES. STUDENTS WILL GAIN HANDS?ON OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPLORE AGRICULTURE, THINK CRITICALLY, AND COLLABORATE ON REAL?WORLD CHALLENGES. OVER TIME, WE EXPECT THIS WORK TO SPARK STUDENT INTEREST IN AGRICULTURAL CAREERS, FOSTER INNOVATION, AND STRENGTHEN AGRICULTURAL LITERACY ACROSS COMMUNITIES THAT NEED IT MOST.

DISSECTING A CORE MECHANISM CONTROLLING SPIKELET MERISTEM FATE AND INFLORESCENCE ARCHITECTURE IN PANICOID CEREALS -INFLORESCENCES ARE FLOWER-BEARING STRUCTURES THAT ULTIMATELY PRODUCE FRUITS AND GRAINS. IN CEREAL CROPS SUCH AS ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT CORN, WHEAT AND RICE, INFLORESCENCES HAVE COMPLEX BRANCHING PATTERNS. THE NUMBER, LENGTH AND POSITION OF BRANCHES COLLECTIVELY COMPOSE ARCHITECTURE, AN AGRONOMIC TRAIT THAT IMPACTS GRAIN YIELD AND HARVESTING ABILITY. INFLORESCENCE ARCHITECTURE IN CEREALS IS CONTROLLED IN PART BY THE TIMING IN WHICH A DEVELOPING BRANCH TERMINATES IN A GRAIN-BEARING UNIT CALLED A SPIKELET. WHILE SPIKELET DEVELOPMENT IS GENERALLY CONSERVED ACROSS CEREALS, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE MECHANISMS THAT CONTROL IT AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DISSECT THE MOLECULAR UNDERPINNINGS OF SPIKELET DEVELOPMENT AND IDENTIFY CONTROL POINTS FOR PRECISION BREEDING OR ENGINEERING HIGH-YIELDING CEREAL CROPS. THE PROPOSED WORK LEVERAGES THE MODEL CEREAL SETARIA VIRIDIS, WHICH IS CLOSELY RELATED TO CORN BUT IS SMALL AND RAPID CYCLING, MAKING IT IDEAL FOR LAB-BASED HYPOTHESIS TESTING. IT ALSO HAS A UNIQUE INFLORESCENCE ARCHITECTURE WHERE SPIKELETS CAN BE CONVERTED TO STERILE BRANCHES, AND VICE VERSA, THROUGH APPLICATIONS OF GROWTH HORMONES. THIS GENETIC SYSTEM ENABLES RAPID DISCOVERY THAT CAN BE DIRECTLY TRANSLATED TO CORN AND OTHER CEREAL CROPS, ULTIMATELY IMPACTING CROP PRODUCTIVITY AND FOOD SECURITY. THE PROJECT ALSO PROVIDES CROSS-DISCIPLINARY TRAINING IN ADVANCED MOLECULAR AND MICROSCOPY TECHNIQUES AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY FOR UNDERGRADUATES AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. A CURRICULUM BASED ON THIS PROJECT WILL BE DEPLOYED IN HIGH SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES, FROM RURAL TO CITY SCHOOLS, PROVIDING RESEARCH EXPERIENCES THAT LINK MOLECULAR LAB SKILLS TO CONCEPTS IN FOOD SECURITY AND IMPACTING FUTURE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. INFLORESCENCE ARCHITECTURE IS AN IMPORTANT AGRONOMIC TRAIT, DIRECTLY RELATED TO GRAIN YIELD AND HARVESTING ABILITY. ARCHITECTURE IS DETERMINED BY POSITION AND FATE OF DIFFERENTIATING STEM CELL POPULATIONS CALLED MERISTEMS. IN GRASSES, DIFFERENT MERISTEM TYPES AND VARIATIONS IN THEIR DETERMINACIES GIVE RISE TO DIVERSE, COMPLEX BRANCHING PATTERNS OF THE INFLORESCENCE. THIS PROPOSAL IS AIMED AT UNDERSTANDING THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS CONTROLLING CELL FATE DECISIONS DURING INFLORESCENCE DEVELOPMENT AND HOW THOSE DECISIONS DETERMINE ARCHITECTURE AND GRAIN BEARING POTENTIAL. THE WORK TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE MODEL GRASS SETARIA VIRIDIS BECAUSE OF ITS UNIQUE INFLORESCENCE ARCHITECTURE AND EMERGING BREADTH OF GENETICS AND GENOMICS TOOLS. IN SETARIA SPP., INFLORESCENCE BRANCHES TERMINATE IN EITHER A GRAIN-PRODUCING SPIKELET OR STERILE BRISTLE, AND THESE STRUCTURES ARE PAIRED. THE LOSS-OF-FUNCTION BRISTLELESS1 MUTANT IS DEFECTIVE IN BRASSINOSTEROID BIOSYNTHESIS AND FAILS TO INITIATE A BRISTLE IDENTITY PROGRAM, RESULTING IN HOMEOTIC CONVERSION OF BRISTLES TO SPIKELETS. IN CONTRAST, MUTATIONS IN THE SPIKELETLESS (SPKL) GENE CONVERT SPIKELETS TO BRISTLES. SPKL ENCODES A PANICOID GRASS-SPECIFIC TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR AND FUNCTIONAL ORTHOLOG OF MAIZE RAMOSA1 (RA1), A DOMESTICATION GENE THAT IMPACTS HARVESTABILITY BY CONFERRING MERISTEM DETERMINACY IN EARS. DESPITE ITS IMPORTANCE IN EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT, THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS SURROUNDING RA1 FUNCTION IN MAIZE AND OTHER PANICOID CEREALS IS LARGELY UNKNOWN. THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO I) LEVERAGE THE UNIQUE SPIKELET VS BRISTLE PROGRAM IN SETARIA TO DISSECT MOLECULAR MECHANISMS CONTROLLING THIS CORE GENETIC MODULE INVOLVING RA1 AND GROWTH HORMONES IN SHAPING MERISTEM FATE AND INFLORESCENCE ARCHITECTURE, AND II) EXTEND THESE FINDINGS THROUGH COMPARATIVE APPROACHES TO CLOSELY RELATED CEREAL CROPS MAIZE AND SORGHUM. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

SUMMARY: OILS ARE THE MOST ENERGY DENSE PRODUCT OF PLANT-BASED PHOTOSYNTHESIS, WITH TWICE THE ENERGY CONTENT OF CARBOHYDRATES. IN MOST CASES, OILS ACCUMULATE IN SEEDS. SEED-SET OCCURS ONLY OVER THE LAST 1/3RD OF THE LIFE CYCLE. THEREFORE, SETTING SEEDS IS NOT THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO CAPITALIZE ON SUNLIGHT-POWERED CARBON ASSIMILATION FOR PRODUCTS ESPECIALLY WITH INCREASINGLY CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. AN APPEALING ALTERNATIVE IS TO MAKE LIPIDS IN LEAVES. LEAF BIOMASS IS MADE THROUGHOUT THE LIFE-CYCLE AND LIPIDS CAN BE EASILY AND COST-EFFECTIVELY EXTRACTED FROM LEAVES. WE PROPOSE TO STUDY ENGINEERED TOBACCO WITH HIGH LEVELS OF LIPIDS IN LEAVES (OIL AS 30% OF BIOMASS). RECENT EFFORTS HAVE ENABLED LOW PERCENTAGE LIPID PRODUCTION IN THE LEAVES OF SUGARCANE, POTATO, ARABIDOPSIS, BUT NOTHING COMPARABLE TO THE 30% OIL IN LEAVES OF TOBACCO. THEREFORE, UNDERSTANDING HOW TOBACCO METABOLISM ADAPTS TO THE HIGH DEMANDS OF LIPID ACCUMULATION IN ENGINEERED LEAVES UNDER CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTS WILL ENABLE FURTHER ENGINEERING EFFORTS IN ALL CROPS. THE AIMS OF THIS PROJECT ARE: 1) ASSESS DYNAMICS OF GROWTH AND PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN OIL PRODUCING LEAVES UNDER STRESS TO CHARACTERIZE TRADEOFFS BETWEEN OIL PRODUCTION AND PHOTOSYNTHETIC MEMBRANE MAINTENANCE; 2) CHARACTERIZE THE MECHANISTIC IMPACT OF ACYL FLUX TOWARD OIL RATHER THAN PHOTOSYNTHETIC MEMBRANES ON PHOTOSYNTHETIC HARDWARE AND FUNCTION; 3) ASSESS CARBON PARTITIONING OF LEAF ACYL FLUX PLASTICITY TO THE COMBINED DEMANDS OF OIL ACCUMULATION AND MEMBRANE REMODELING IN RESPONSE TO ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTS; AND 4) DEVELOP MODELS OF LEAF DYNAMICS AND RESPONSE TO THE ENVIRONMENT TO IDENTIFY KEY METABOLIC REACTIONS FOR ACCUMULATING LEAF OILS.

TO FEED, CLOTHE, AND POWER THE WORLD IN THE FACE OF A GROWING AND URBANIZING WORLD POPULATION, WE NEED TECHNOLOGIES THAT ACCELERATE PLANT BREEDING AND CROP DEVELOPMENT PIPELINES. IMAGING AND REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES, COUPLED WITH DATA ANALYTICS, AIMS TO INCREASE THE THROUGHPUT OF MEASURING PLANT PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FEATURES (PHENOTYPING) BY ENABLING THE ABILITY TO NON-DESTRUCTIVELY ASSAY MORE GENETIC LINEAGES AT HIGHER SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL RESOLUTION. WHILE MANY TOOLS AND ALGORITHMS EXIST TO EXTRACT INFORMATION FROM IMAGE DATA, USE OF IMAGE ANALYSIS TOOLS FOR PLANT PHENOTYPING IS STILL A RELATIVELY NEW FIELD, AND MANY EXISTING TOOLS ARE EITHER CREATED FOR TARGETED PURPOSES OR ARE POORLY MAINTAINED AFTER RELEASE. WE BUILT THE OPEN-SOURCE PLANTCV SOFTWARE PACKAGE TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES AND OUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE A COMMON INTERFACE FOR PLANT PHENOTYPING ALGORITHMS WITH THE AIM TO BUILD A MODULAR PLATFORM THAT WE AND OTHERS COULD BUILD ON.IN THIS PROJECT WE WILL BUILD ON THE EXISTING PLANTCV PLATFORM TO DEVELOP NEW TOOLS AND CAPABILITIES FOR PLANT PHENOTYPING. IN PARTICULAR, WE WILL DEVELOP NEW ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES THAT UTILIZE MACHINE LEARNING FOR AUTOMATED PLANT FEATURE DETECTION, AND BROADEN SUPPORT FOR NEW TYPES OF CAMERAS AND SENSORS. A NEW TOOLKIT THAT STREAMLINES THE COLLECTION OF HUMAN-CURATED DATA USED TO TRAIN MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS WILL ENHANCE THE UTILITY OF THE NEW ANALYSIS TOOLS. A NEW DATA AND COMPUTING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WILL IMPROVE THE ABILITY OF USERS TO DEPLOY PLANT PHENOTYPING TOOLS ON DIVERSE SYSTEMS AT INFRASTRUCTURE-SCALE. OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRAINING AND EDUCATION OF STAKEHOLDERS WILL BE PROVIDED THROUGH HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS AND ONLINE, INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTATION. OUR OVERALL GOAL, WHICH ALIGNS WITH THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE CYBERINFORMATICS AND TOOLS PROGRAM AREA PRIORITIES, IS TO BUILD A SCALABLE ANALYSIS AND DATA INTEGRATION PLATFORM THAT ENABLES STAKEHOLDERS IN THE PLANT PHENOTYPING COMMUNITY TO EFFECTIVELY UTILIZE DATA TO ACCELERATE DISCOVERIES IN PLANT SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH.

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF THE ROLES OF G-PROTEIN COMPLEX DURING REGULATION OF CRITICAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESSES IN SOYBEAN

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE

REU SITE: RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES IN PLANT SCIENCE AT THE DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER -THIS REU SITE AWARD TO THE DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER, LOCATED IN ST. LOUIS, MO, WILL SUPPORT THE TRAINING OF 10 STUDENTS EACH YEAR FOR 10 WEEKS DURING THE SUMMERS OF 2026-2028. THE PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE, REAL-LIFE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FROM ACROSS THE USA, ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM INSTITUTIONS WITH LIMITED RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES, FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS AND STUDENTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THEIR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION. RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES WILL GIVE EXCEPTIONAL TRAINING TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS INTERESTED IN PLANT BIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY, DISCIPLINES WHICH ARE BECOMING MORE IMPORTANT AS THE NEED FOR HIGH-YIELDING RESILIENT CROPS INCREASES TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF A RAPIDLY GROWING WORLD POPULATION. STUDENTS WILL LEARN HOW RESEARCH IS CONDUCTED, HOW TO CORRECTLY DOCUMENT AND INTERPRET THEIR RESEARCH AND EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE SCIENCE. ALL STUDENTS WILL PRESENT THEIR RESEARCH AT AN INTERNAL SYMPOSIUM, AND MANY WILL PRESENT AT SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES AND PUBLISH IN RESEARCH JOURNALS. THE THIRTY STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM WILL AID IN SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN MISSOURI AND THE REST OF THE USA. ASSESSMENT OF THE PROGRAM WILL BE DONE THROUGH A MODIFIED STUDENT ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING GAINS (SALG) SURVEY AND STUDENTS WILL BE TRACKED AFTER THE PROGRAM TO FOLLOW THEIR CAREER PATHS. STUDENTS SHOULD APPLY TO THE REU SITE USING THE DESIGNATED NSF WEBSITE (EDUCATION AND TRAINING APPLICATION (ETAP): HTTPS://ETAP.NSF.GOV). THE TRAINING STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE IS ALIGNED WITH NSF PRIORITIES IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND BIOTECHNOLOGY. THE FOCUS OF THE PROGRAM IS ORIGINAL, HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN RESEARCH CENTERED ON ANSWERING IMPORTANT QUESTIONS IN PLANT SCIENCE. RESEARCH TOPICS RANGE FROM FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE GEARED TOWARDS DISCOVERY TO TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN WET-BENCH AND FIELD RESEARCH SETTINGS. THERE WILL ALSO BE TRAINING IN CUTTING-EDGE BIO-IMAGING, DATA SCIENCE, AND AI/MACHINE LEARNING APPROACHES FOR PLANT SCIENCE AND PHENOTYPING, AND STATE-OF-THE-ART APPROACHES TO PLANT TRANSFORMATION AND PLANT COMPOSITIONAL ANALYSIS. TO TRANSLATE BASIC RESEARCH TO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS, STUDENTS WILL PARTICIPATE IN CONVERSATIONS ON PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, REGULATORY GUIDELINES AND DISSEMINATION TO COMMUNITIES IN NEED. STUDENTS WILL ALSO ENGAGE IN A VARIETY OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES INCLUDING TRAINING IN THE RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH, SCIENCE COMMUNICATION, CHOOSING A CAREER, AND APPLYING FOR GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS. THE PROGRAM WILL RECRUIT PARTICIPANTS FROM ACROSS THE USA FOCUSING ON STUDENTS FROM RURAL COMMUNITIES, THOSE WHO ARE EARLY IN THEIR COLLEGE CAREERS AND STUDENTS FROM COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WITH LIMITED RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES. ASSESSMENT OF THE PROGRAM WILL BE DONE THROUGH A MODIFIED STUDENT ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING GAINS (SALG) INSTRUMENT. MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE AT HTTPS://WWW.DANFORTHCENTER.ORG/OUR-WORK/EDUCATION-OUTREACH/UNDERGRADUATE-PROGRAM/INTERNSHIP-PROGRAM/, OR BY CONTACTING THE PI (DR. TESSA BURCH-SMITH AT TBURCH-SMITH@DANFORTHCENTER.ORG) OR CO-PI (DR. KIRK CZYMMEK AT KCZYMMEK@DANFORTHCENTER.ORG). THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

MORPHINE IN MAMMALS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A TANDEM MS FOR PLANT CELLULAR & SUBCELLULAR METABOLIC STUDIES

ENGINEERING C4 PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN MAIZE TO ENHANCE NITROGEN UTILIZATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EDGE FGT: TRANSFORMATION AND GENOMIC RESOURCES TO ADVANCE DIVERSE, EMERGING MODEL ANGIOSPERMS

3D PLANTS: STUDENTS BUILD AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITY PLANT MODELS TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF DESIGN IN STEM

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RESEARCH-PGR: DECONSTRUCTING PLASTICITY IN PERENNIAL PLANTS: GENOMIC AND EPIGENOMIC ARCHITECTURE OF SCION AND ROOTSTOCK TRAITS IN GRAFTED GRAPEVINES -GRAPEVINES ARE AMONG THE MOST ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT BERRIES IN THE WORLD. AS A LONG-LIVED (PERENNIAL) CROP, GRAPEVINES ARE TYPICALLY CULTIVATED AS A CLONALLY PROPAGATED STEM (THE SCION) WHICH IS MECHANICALLY GRAFTED TO A GENETICALLY DISTINCT, CLONALLY PROPAGATED ROOT (THE ROOTSTOCK). BECAUSE GRAPEVINES ARE CULTIVATED AS CLONES, INDIVIDUAL PLANTS OF THE SAME VARIETY ARE ESSENTIALLY GENETIC TWINS. THOUSANDS OF CLONAL STEM VARIETIES ARE PLANTED ACROSS THE GLOBE AND EXHIBIT LARGE VARIATION IN GROWTH, BERRY CHEMISTRY, AND WINE VOLATILES BASED ON VINEYARD ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AND MANAGEMENT. THIS VARIATION IN GROWTH AND PERFORMANCE IS KNOWN AS PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY AND IMPACTS BOTH FRUIT AND WINE CHARACTERISTICS, A PHENOMENON KNOWN CULTURALLY AND COMMERCIALLY AS ?TERROIR?, THE SIGNATURE OF THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT ON THE VINE. BECAUSE OF THEIR CLONAL NATURE, ONE POTENTIAL MECHANISM CONTRIBUTING TO PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY IN GRAPEVINES IS CHANGES TO THE EPIGENOME, A COLLECTIVE TERM FOR NON-GENETIC DNA MODIFICATIONS THAT CAN CHANGE HOW SPECIFIC GENES AND GENE PATHWAYS ARE ACTIVATED OR DEACTIVATED. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO UNDERSTAND WHICH PORTIONS OF THE GRAPEVINE GENOME ARE IMPACTED BY EPIGENETIC CHANGES, HOW EPIGENETIC CHANGE IN THE ROOT AND THE STEM INTERACT IN GRAFTED PLANTS, AND HOW THESE CHANGES CONTRIBUTE TO OPTIMAL PLANT RESILIENCE IN RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS. THESE RESULTS WILL BE USED TO HELP PLANT BREEDERS IDENTIFY THE NEXT GENERATION OF ELITE GRAPEVINE VARIETIES AND GRAPE GROWERS IMPROVE GRAPEVINE PRODUCTION ACROSS DIVERSE GROWING REGIONS. INTEGRATED EDUCATION AND OUTREACH INCLUDE PROVIDING RESEARCH TRAINING FOR PROJECT PERSONNEL IN COLLABORATION WITH INDUSTRY PARTNERS ACROSS SIX STATES. IN ADDITION, PROJECT PARTICIPANTS WILL BE INVOLVED IN OUTREACH AND HANDS-ON RESEARCH TRAINING ACTIVITIES THAT LEVERAGE EXISTING PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIPS TO MAXIMIZE STEM PARTICIPATION OF HIGH SCHOOL AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. HOW DO LONG-LIVED PLANTS (PERENNIALS) ACCLIMATE TO DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS AND WHAT IS THE EXTENT OF PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY POSSIBLE FROM A SINGLE GENOME? GRAPEVINES ARE GROWN AS A COMPOSITE OF A CLONALLY PROPAGATED STEM (THE SCION) MECHANICALLY GRAFTED TO A CLONALLY PROPAGATED ROOT (THE ROOTSTOCK). THESE UNIQUE COMBINATIONS OF SHOOT AND ROOT ARE PLANTED ACROSS DIVERSE GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS AROUND THE WORLD; CONSEQUENTLY, GRAPEVINES OFFER A POWERFUL SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF WHOLE-PLANT, MULTI-YEAR PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY AND ENABLES THE EXPERIMENT DISENTANGLEMENT OF THE SHOOT GENOTYPE X ROOT GENOTYPE X ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS ACROSS DIVERSE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. THE GOAL OF THIS COLLABORATIVE PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AN INTEGRATED UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE GENOME OF CLONALLY PROPAGATED PERENNIAL PLANTS PRODUCES ?ADAPTED? PHENOTYPES, FROM ROOTS TO SHOOTS, OVER TIME AND UNDER DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, AND TO IDENTIFY THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF THIS PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY. THIS STUDY WILL USE EXPERIMENTAL VINEYARDS PLANTED WITH A SINGLE SCION CULTIVAR ?MARQUETTE? GRAFTED TO THREE COMMERCIAL ROOTSTOCK CULTIVARS, REPLICATED IN THREE DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS (NEW YORK, MISSOURI, SOUTH DAKOTA). THE PROJECT WILL USE AN INTEGRATIVE SYSTEMS BIOLOGY APPROACH COMBINING MEASURES OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY, LEAF IONOMICS AND METABOLOMICS, FRUIT IONOMICS AND METABOLOMICS, WINE CHEMISTRY ANALYSIS, AND CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SRNA, MRNA, AND CYTOSINE METHYLATION SIGNATURES IN SHOOTS AND ROOTS ACROSS SITES AND THEIR INTERACTION WITH THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL CHANGES THAT OCCUR IN THE EPIGENOME IN CLONAL SHOOTS AND ROOTS. ALL DATA WILL BE MADE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC THROUGH LONG-TERM REPOSITORIES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

IOS: THE FUNCTION AND EVOLUTION OF PLANT PHASED SIRNAS IN SIGNALING PATHWAYS AND MICROBIAL INTERACTIONS

REU SITE: RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES IN PLANT SCIENCE AT THE DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER -THIS REU SITE AWARD TO THE DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER, LOCATED IN ST. LOUIS, MO, WILL SUPPORT THE TRAINING OF 10 STUDENTS EACH YEAR FOR 10 WEEKS DURING THE SUMMERS OF 2023-2025. THE PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE, REAL-LIFE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM INSTITUTIONS WITH LIMITED RESEARCH FACILITIES, UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES, FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS AND STUDENTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THEIR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION. RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES WILL GIVE EXCEPTIONAL TRAINING TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS INTERESTED IN PLANT BIOLOGY, A DISCIPLINE WHICH WILL BECOME EVEN MORE IMPORTANT AS THE WORLD POPULATION GROWS AND THE ENVIRONMENT CHANGES. STUDENTS WILL LEARN HOW RESEARCH IS CONDUCTED, HOW TO CORRECTLY DOCUMENT THEIR RESEARCH AND EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE SCIENCE. ALL STUDENTS WILL PRESENT THEIR RESEARCH AT AN INTERNAL SYMPOSIUM, AND MANY WILL PRESENT AT SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES AND PUBLISH IN RESEARCH JOURNALS. PARTICIPANTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO REGISTER IN THE NSF EDUCATION AND TRAINING APPLICATION SYSTEM (ETAP). ASSESSMENT OF THE PROGRAM WILL BE DONE THROUGH THE ONLINE SALG URSSA TOOL. STUDENTS WILL BE TRACKED AFTER THE PROGRAM IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THEIR CAREER PATHS. THE FOCUS OF THE PROGRAM IS ORIGINAL, HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN RESEARCH CENTERED ON ANSWERING IMPORTANT QUESTIONS IN PLANT SCIENCE. RESEARCH TOPICS RANGE FROM FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE GEARED TOWARDS DISCOVERY TO TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN WET-BENCH SETTINGS AND IN BIO-IMAGING, DATA SCIENCE AND ROBOTICS, AS WELL AS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, REGULATORY GUIDELINES AND DISSEMINATION TO COMMUNITIES IN NEED. FURTHERMORE, STUDENTS WILL PARTICIPATE IN EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS ON BIO-IMAGING, PROTEOMICS, PHENOTYPING, BIOINFORMATICS AND DATA SCIENCE, AND TISSUE CULTURE. THEY WILL ALSO ENGAGE IN A VARIETY OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES INCLUDING TRAINING IN THE RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH, SCIENCE COMMUNICATION, CHOOSING A CAREER AND APPLYING FOR GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS AND PROGRAMS. STUDENTS WILL ALSO RECEIVE TRAINING IN BEST PRACTICES IN EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION. THE PROGRAM WILL RECRUIT PARTICIPANTS WHO ARE FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS INCLUDING THOSE WITH DISABILITIES, WOMEN, AND FROM RURAL COMMUNITIES, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WITH LIMITED RESEARCH PROGRAMS. MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE BY VISITING HTTPS://WWW.DANFORTHCENTER.ORG/OUR-WORK/EDUCATION-OUTREACH/UNDERGRADUATE-PROGRAM/INTERNSHIP-PROGRAM/, OR BY CONTACTING THE PI (DR. TESSA BURCH-SMITH AT TBURCH-SMITH@DANFORTHCENTER.ORG) OR CO-PI (DR. SONA PANDEY AT SPANDEY@DANFORTHCENTER.ORG). THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

PRENYLATION MECHANISMS AND DEVELOPMENTAL FUNCTION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE ROLE OF SUPPRESSOR OF SESSILE SPIKELET1 (SOS1) IN MERISTEM MAINTENANCE AND DETERMINACY

EAGER: CHARACTERIZATION OF A PUTATIVE XANTHOMONAS-PSEUDOMONAS DISEASE COMPLEX OF COTTON

NOVEL ANTIFUNGAL SYMBIOTIC PEPTIDES: MODES OF ACTION AND CONTROL OF FUNGAL PATHOGENS

**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** FUNGAL PATHOGENS CAUSE SIGNIFICANT LOSSES OF CROP YIELD AND ARE A SERIOUS BIOLOGICAL THREAT TO FOOD SECURITY. EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF FUNGAL DISEASES IN CROPS HAS BECOME A MAJOR CHALLENGE DUE TO DEVELOPMENT OF FUNGICIDE RESISTANCE IN PATHOGEN POPULATIONS AND LACK OF SINGLE GENE RESISTANCE. THUS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO LOOK FOR COUNTERMEASURES. SMALL CYSTEINE-RICH ANTIFUNGAL PEPTIDES THAT EXHIBIT POTENT ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY AGAINST ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT FUNGAL PATHOGENS OFFER PEPTIDE-BASED BIOFUNGICIDE ALTERNATIVES TO ON-FARM CHEMICAL FUNGICIDES. WE HAVE IDENTIFIED TWO SMALL ANTIFUNGAL PEPTIDES FROM LEGUMINOUS PLANTS THAT OFFER SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT AS SECOND-GENERATION SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE BIOFUNGICIDES. FOR EFFECTIVE USE OF THESE PEPTIDES FOR CROP PROTECTION IN AGRICULTURE, IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THEIR STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS AND MECHANISMS OF ANTIFUNGAL ACTION. PRELIMINARY STUDIES HAVE REVEALED THAT THESE PEPTIDES EXHIBIT MULTI-FACETED MODES OF ACTION. INTHIS PROPOSAL, ACTIVE SITES OF THESE PEPTIDES GOVERNING THEIR ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY WILL BE DETERMINED AND EXTENSIVE HIGH-RESOLUTION MICROSCOPY WILL BE USED TO INVESTIGATE SUBCELLULAR TARGETS OF THESE PEPTIDES IN A FUNGAL PATHOGEN THAT CAUSES GRAY MOLD DISEASE IN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. FURTHER, BIOCHEMICAL TOOLS WILL BE EMPLOYED TO IDENTIFY MOLECULAR TARGETS OF THESE PEPTIDES IN THE FUNGUS. THIS PROJECT PROVIDES INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING TO A POSTDOCTORAL STUDENT AND A TECHNICIAN.

REU SITE: RESEARCH EXPERIENCES IN PLANT SCIENCE AT THE DANFORTH CENTER

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: GENETIC COMPARISONS OF ABSCISSION ZONES IN GRASSES

THE ROLE OF SOYBEAN G-PROTEINS IN HORMONAL REGULATION OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

PFI-TT: ACCELERATED DETECTION OF SUCCESSFUL CROP PRODUCTION

PHYLOGENY AND GENOME EVOLUTION OF THE ANDROPOGONEAE (POACEAE)

MECHANISMS OF GLUTAMATE DEHYDROGENASE ALLOSTERY

RE-EVALUATING MECHANISMS OF RNA-MEDIATED INITIATION OF TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENT SILENCING IN PLANTS

** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** CASSAVA IS AN IMPORTANT CROP FOR SMALL, MEDIUM, AND LARGE-SCALE FARMERS. IT IS A HARDY PLANT THAT CAN BE GROWN WITHOUT IRRIGATION, FERTILIZER OR PESTICIDES AND IS HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE EVEN WHEN GROWN ON MARGINAL LAND. AS SUCH, IT IS LIKELY TO BECOME AN EVEN MORE IMPORTANT CROP IN THE FACE OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE. CASSAVA MOSAIC DISEASE (CMD) IS A DEVASTATING DISEASE OF CASSAVA ACROSS THE AFRICAN CONTINENT AND HAS RECENTLY SPREAD TO ASIA. SOME VARIETIES OF CASSAVA HAVE NATURAL GENETIC RESISTANCE TO CMD AND THE GENE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS RESISTANCE WAS RECENTLY IDENTIFIED. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT YET UNDERSTOOD HOW THE RESISTANCE WORKS. WITH HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DEPENDING ON THIS ONE SOURCE OF RESISTANCE TO A DEVASTATING PATHOGEN, A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISM BEHIND THE RESISTANCE IS DESIRED. THIS RESEARCH WILL REVEAL THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF RESISTANCE AND TEST WHETHER THIS TYPE OF RESISTANCE CAN PROTECT DIVERSE AND IMPORTANT CROPS FROM OTHER VIRUS PATHOGENS. IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS RESEARCH WILL LEAD TO SUSTAINABLE AND EFFECTIVE DISEASE CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR MANY IMPORTANT CROPS SUCH AS TOMATO AND COTTON. THROUGHOUT THE RESEARCH, TRAINING WILL BE PROVIDED FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS RESEARCH WILL BE SHARED WITH SOCIETY THROUGH A VARIETY OF PUBLIC LECTURES AND OUTREACH EVENTS.CMD IS CAUSED BY SPECIES OF DNA GEMINIVIRUSES. THE CMD RESISTANCE WAS TRACKED TO SPECIFIC AMINO ACID CHANGES WITHIN THE DNA POLYMERASE DELTA SUBUNIT 1 (POLD1) PROTEIN. VIRUSES ARE FANTASTICALLY EFFECTIVE AT OVERCOMING HOST RESISTANCE MECHANISMS AND YET THIS RESISTANCE TRAIT HAS BEEN STABLE FOR DECADES. FURTHER, SEVERAL RESISTANT CULTIVARS OF CASSAVA ARE PERICLINAL CHIMERAS WITH THE RESISTANCE ALLELE PRESENT IN ONLY SPECIFIC CELL LAYERS. WHY THIS RESISTANCE IS SO STABLE AND HOW IT CAN FUNCTION IN THE CONTEXT OF A PERICLINAL CHIMERA, IS NOT YET CLEAR. WHILE SOME OF THE IDENTIFIED POLD1 MUTATIONS ARE NOVEL, OTHERS HAVE BEEN OBSERVED IN YEAST AND RESULT IN DECREASED DNA REPLICATION FIDELITY, POINTING TOWARDS A POSSIBLE FUNCTIONAL MECHANISM. TRANSIENT ASSAYS WILL BE USED TO TEST THIS AND OTHER CANDIDATE MECHANISTIC HYPOTHESES. THESE INCLUDE CHARACTERIZING VIRAL REPLICATION RATES AND FIDELITY OF THE DIFFERENT POLD1 ALLELES, INTERACTION WITH CANDIDATE VIRAL AND HOST CO-FACTORS AND PROTEIN CRYSTALLOGRAPHY. BEYOND CASSAVA, THIS RESEARCH MAY YIELD NEW RESISTANCE STRATEGIES FOR OTHER IMPORTANT CROPS. A RESISTANT POLD1 ALLELE WILL BE TRANSFORMED INTO THE MODEL SYSTEM ARABIDOPSIS, TO DIRECTLY TEST IF THIS RESISTANCE MECHANISM IS EFFECTIVE IN A DISTINCT PATHOSYSTEM. IN ADDITION, EXPLORATION OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE GENOMIC DATA SUGGESTS THAT SIMILAR ALLELES EXIST IN GERMPLASM COLLECTIONS FROM TOMATO, COTTON, AND SEVERAL OTHER IMPORTANT CROPS.THE RELEVANT GERMPLASM HAS BEEN OBTAINED AND WILL BE CHALLENGED WITH THE RESPECTIVE VIRAL PATHOGENS.

DEVELOPING AN ACCURATE COMPUTER PROGRAM TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL GENES IN TOMATO GENOME SEQUENCE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RESEARCH-PGR: DEVELOPMENT OF EPIGENETIC EDITING FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT -GENOME EDITING TOOLS HAVE REVOLUTIONIZED BIOLOGY. SCIENTISTS ARE USING THESE TOOLS TO CONNECT GENES TO PHENOTYPES, GENERATE NOVEL PHENOTYPIC VARIATION, AND FOR DIVERSE CROP IMPROVEMENT APPLICATIONS. THIS PROJECT EXPANDS THE POSSIBILITIES FOR EDITING IN CROP PLANTS TO INCLUDE A METHOD FOR EDITING GENE EXPRESSION, SO CALLED ?EPIGENETIC EDITING?. EPIGENETICS IS A BROAD TERM USED TO DESCRIBE MECHANISMS THAT CHANGE GENE EXPRESSION WITHOUT DIRECTLY CHANGING THE DNA. EPIGENETIC VARIABILITY CAN HAVE PROFOUND IMPACTS ON AN ORGANISM?S PHENOTYPE, AND MANY IMPORTANT AGRONOMIC TRAITS ARE INFLUENCED BY GENE EXPRESSION. BROADER IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE THE WIDE DISSEMINATION OF THE METHOD FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF CROP PLANTS AND OTHER SPECIES, PLUS THE TRAINING OF STUDENTS VIA INTEGRATION WITH A LONG RUNNING AND SUCCESSFUL UNDERGRADUATE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM. EPIGENETIC CROP IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES WILL COMPLEMENT EXISTING BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BREEDING STRATEGIES AND MAY OFFER OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP MAINTAIN CROP YIELDS IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE. THIS PROJECT WILL DIRECTLY TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS TO USE THESE TOOLS THROUGH AN EFFECTIVE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES (REU) PROGRAM. ALL RESOURCES GENERATED IN THIS PROJECT WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR USE. THIS PROJECT WILL EXPAND THE POSSIBILITIES FOR EDITING IN CROP PLANTS TO INCLUDE EPIGENETIC EDITING. IT WAS RECENTLY DEMONSTRATED THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO AFFECT GENE EXPRESSION THROUGH TARGETED DNA METHYLATION AT MESWEET10A IN THE IMPORTANT CROP, CASSAVA. MESWEET10A IS NOT NORMALLY EXPRESSED IN LEAF TISSUE BUT IS ECTOPICALLY INDUCED BY A BACTERIAL PATHOGEN USING A TRANSCRIPTION ACTIVATOR-LIKE (TAL) EFFECTOR. DE NOVO METHYLATION OF THE MESWEET10A PROMOTER BLOCKED TAL BINDING AND LED TO DECREASED DISEASE SYMPTOMS. DESPITE THESE ENCOURAGING RESULTS, EPIGENETIC EDITING IS STILL AN IMMATURE TECHNOLOGY. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO FILL SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE GAPS RELATED TO ESTABLISHMENT, MAINTENANCE, AND INHERITANCE OF EPIGENETIC EDITS AND IN SO DOING, LOWER THE ENTRY POINT FOR OTHER RESEARCHERS TO ADOPT THIS POWERFUL TECHNOLOGY. SPECIFICALLY, AIM 1 OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DEVELOP AND DISTRIBUTE EPIGENETIC EDITING TOOLS IN OTHER CROP SPECIES. THE WORK WILL LEVERAGE AND ADAPT THE TECHNOLOGIES KNOWN TO WORK IN CASSAVA TO ACCOMPLISH SIMILAR DISEASE OUTCOMES IN RICE AND TOMATO. AIM 2 WILL EXPAND ON THE APPLICATIONS OF EPIGENETIC EDITING IN CROPS. THIS INCLUDES THE ABILITY TO TARGET MULTIPLE LOCI SIMULTANEOUSLY, ?FINE TUNE? GENE EXPRESSION AND TISSUE SPECIFIC EDITING. AIM 3 IS DEDICATED TO CHARACTERIZING STABILITY AND HERITABILITY OF DE NOVO EPIALLELES. IF SUCCESSFUL, OTHER RESEARCH PROJECTS AND APPLICATIONS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY WILL BENEFIT. THIS WORK WILL ALSO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL JUMPING OFF POINTS FOR FUNDAMENTAL WORK ON EPIGENETICS IN NON-MODEL PLANT SYSTEMS. FURTHER, AN ABILITY TO DIRECTLY EDIT THE EPIGENOME WILL EMPOWER THE LARGER FIELD OF EPIGENETICS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

POSE: PHASE I: AN OPEN-SOURCE ECOSYSTEM FOR PLANT PHENOTYPING TOOLS BASED ON PLANT COMPUTER VISION (PLANTCV) -A MAJOR BOTTLENECK IN THE ABILITY TO IMPROVE CROPS FOR FOOD, FUEL, AND FIBER IS A GAP IN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW PLANTS CHANGE IN RESPONSE TO THE ENVIRONMENT. PLANT PHENOMICS IS A FIELD OF PLANT BIOLOGY THAT AIMS TO REDUCE THIS BOTTLENECK BY INTEGRATING IMAGING AND COMPUTATIONAL APPROACHES TO NON-DESTRUCTIVELY MEASURE AND MODEL PLANT PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES. IN GENERAL, THE SUSTAINABILITY OF COMPUTATIONAL RESOURCES DEVELOPED BY THE COMMUNITY ARE LACKING DUE TO A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SUSTAINABLE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND A LACK OF COMMUNITY BUILDING BY WORKING IN ISOLATED SILOS. THESE CHALLENGES LEAD TO REDUCED IMPACT OF COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS AND INEFFICIENT ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES AND EFFORT. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THIS COMMUNITY CHALLENGE WITH THE PLANT COMPUTER VISION (PLANTCV) OPEN-SOURCE ECOSYSTEM. PLANT COMPUTER VISION (PLANTCV) IS AN OPEN-SOURCE IMAGE ANALYSIS PACKAGE THAT IS DEVELOPED WITH SUSTAINABILITY IN MIND, WITH ROBUST PROCESSES AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE TO SUPPORT CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION, AND DISTRIBUTED DEVELOPMENT. IN THIS PROJECT, THE TEAM AIMS TO 1) DEVELOP THE GOVERNANCE AND RECRUITMENT STRUCTURES THAT WILL INCREASE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF PLANTCV AS A FOUNDATIONAL TOOL IN THE PLANT PHENOTYPING COMMUNITY; AND 2) RECRUIT AND TRAIN DEVELOPERS IN THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TO BUILD AN OPEN-SOURCE ECOSYSTEM AROUND PLANTCV AND OTHER KEY SOFTWARE IN THE COMMUNITY. CONTRIBUTOR BUY-IN WILL BE FOSTERED BY DEVELOPING A GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE THAT GIVES PARTICIPANTS IN THE COMMUNITY A STAKE IN THE DECISION MAKING OF THE OPEN-SOURCE ECOSYSTEM AND CREDIT FOR CONTRIBUTIONS. ULTIMATELY, THIS ECOSYSTEM COULD ENABLE THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANNOTATED PUBLIC DATASETS AND OPEN-SOURCE TOOLS FOR AGRICULTURE. THIS PROJECT: 1) TRAINS ECOSYSTEM PARTICIPANTS IN SUSTAINABLE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT SKILLS, WHICH BENEFITS BOTH PLANTCV AND OTHER TOOLS IN THE PLANT PHENOTYPING ECOSYSTEM; 2) TRAINS AND RECRUITS USERS IN THE ECOSYSTEM TO INCREASE THE ADOPTION OF PHENOMICS TOOLS; AND 3) DEVELOPS A COMMUNITY OF CONTRIBUTORS AND LEADERS IN OPEN-SOURCE TOOLS IN PHENOMICS THAT WILL LEAD FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

EAGER: UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS OF ACTION OF TWO DIVERSE ANTIFUNGAL PLANT DEFENSINS

BTT EAGER: ADVANCING HYBRID WHEAT PRODUCTION THROUGH THE USE OF NOVEL PATHWAYS FOR MALE STERILITY

EAGER: MULTISCALE MULTIPLEX SPATIAL-OMICS: ILLUMINATING MOLECULAR PATHWAYS AND ARCHITECTURE IN PLANT CELLS AND TISSUES

EAGER: SINGLE-CELL, SPATIAL TRANSCRIPTOMICS OF PLANT-FUNGAL INTERACTIONS USING A MASKLESS ARRAY TECHNOLOGY

NON-PROFIT AND HBCU COLLABORATION TO ESTABLISH A PLANT PHENOTYPING DATA SCIENCE COURSE-BASED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

REU SITE: RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES IN PLANT SCIENCE AT THE DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER

REU SITE: RESEARCH EXPERIENCES IN PLANT SCIENCE AT THE DANFORTH CENTER

RCN: AN INTERNATIONAL ARABIDOPSIS INFORMATICS CONSORTIUM

OVER THE PAST SEVERAL CENTURIES, ATMOSPHERIC CONCENTRATIONS OF GREENHOUSE GASES (SUCH AS CARBON DIOXIDE, METHANE AND NITROUS OXIDE) HAVE INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY. THIS INCREASE IS IN PART ATTRIBUTABLE TO EMISSIONS OF GREENHOUSE GASES FROM CROPLANDS, WHICH CURRENTLY OCCUPY ALMOST ONE FIFTH OF THE GLOBAL LANDSCAPE. AS RISING GREENHOUSE GAS CONCENTRATIONS HAVE LED TO WIDESPREAD GLOBAL CHANGES IN CLIMATE, DAMAGES TO ECONOMIES AND DISRUPTIONS TO SOCIETAL FUNCTIONS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF LAND USE SYSTEMS THAT MINIMIZE SOIL GHG EMISSIONS WILL BE CRITICAL TO PREVENTING FURTHER ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIETAL IMPACTS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED ATMOSPHERIC GREENHOUSE GAS CONCENTRATIONS. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF LONG-LIVED PERENNIAL CROPS REPRESENTS A POTENTIAL PATHWAY TO REDUCING CROPLAND SOIL GAS EMISSIONS. INTERMEDIATE WHEATGRASS (IWG; THINOPYRUM INTERMEDIUM, TRADENAME KERNZA ®), A COOL-SEASON PERENNIAL GRASS DOMESTICATED FOR GRAIN AND FORAGE PRODUCTION AND THE MOST ADVANCED PERENNIAL GRAIN CROP CURRENTLY UNDERGOING DOMESTICATION, HAS ALREADY BEEN SHOWN TO BETTER PROVISION WATER-RELATED AND SOIL-RELATED ECOSYSTEM SERVICES LARGELY THAN ANNUAL CROPS DUE TO THE DENSE ROOT NETWORKS DEVELOPED BY IWG. HOWEVER, DENSE IWG ROOT SYSTEMS MAY ALSO INCREASE THE CONNECTIVITY AND VOLUME OF SOIL AIR SPACES (I.E. SOIL PORES) AT THE SOIL SURFACE, WHICH MAY IN TURN PROMOTE THE LOSS OF GREENHOUSE GASSES ACCUMULATED THROUGHOUT THE SOIL PROFILE TO THE ATMOSPHERE THROUGH SURFACE SOIL GAS EMISSIONS. WHOLE-YEAR SOIL GAS EMISSIONS, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO SOIL PORE CONSTRUCTION AND HERITABLE ROOT TRAITS REMAINS UNCLEAR IN IWG SYSTEMS, HAMPERING OUR ABILITY TO DEVELOP CLIMATE FRIENDLY CROPPING SYSTEMS FEATURING PERENNIAL GRAINS.THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO QUANTIFY SOIL GAS EMISSIONS IN PERENNIAL GRAIN AND FORAGE SYSTEMS (IWG, ALFALFA AND IWG-ALFALFA BICULTURE), ELUCIDATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOIL GHG FLUXES (CO2, N2O AND CH4), ROOT TRAITS AND SOIL PORE FEATURES (DERIVED FROM X-RAY IMAGING) IN THESE SYSTEMS; AND EVALUATE THE PLANT GENETIC CONTROLS OVER SOIL GHG EMISSIONS. USING A VARIETY OF METHODS, INCLUDING CAVITY RINGDOWN SPECTROMETRY TO MEASURE SOIL-DERIVED GREENHOUSE GASES AND X-RAY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY TO QUANTIFY SOIL PORE NETWORK FEATURES, I WILL ENHANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF IWG'S CAPACITY TO MITIGATE SOIL GHG EMISSIONS, WHILE PROVIDING A FOUNDATION OF KNOWLEDGE REGARDING PLANT GENETIC AND ROOT-SOIL CONTROLS OVER SOIL GHG FLUXES, WHICH CAN BE APPLIED TO THE BREEDING AND DEVELOPMENT OF MORE SUSTAINABLE PERENNIAL AND ANNUAL BIOFUEL, GRAIN OR FORAGE CROPS.

CHENOPODIUM QUINOA GROWS IN A WIDE RANGE OF ENVIRONMENTS AND CAN TOLERATE HIGH CONCENTRATION OF SALT IN THE SOIL BY EXCLUDING THE NA+ EXCESS AND SEQUESTERING IT IN THE EPIDERMAL SALT BLADDERS (EBC'S). OUR PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENTS SHOW THAT HEATING THE FLOWERS DURING THE DAY REDUCES YIELD, POLLEN GERMINATION, SEED NUMBER, AND FRUIT FORMATION IN QUINOA. WORLD AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IS INCREASING AND GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS WILL INCREASE AND CONTRIBUTE TO TEMPERATURE RISING. NIGHT TIME WARMING IS A COMPLEX PHENOMENON THAT CAUSES REDUCTION IN YIELD, PHOTOSYNTHETIC EFFICIENCY, AND INCREASE IN TRANSPIRATION RATES WHICH IS DETRIMENTAL FOR CROP PRODUCTION. THIS PHENOMENON IS RISING 1.4 TIMES FASTER THAN DAYTIME TEMPERATURES DUE TO AN INCREASE IN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF COMBINING HIGH NIGHT TEMPERATURE AND SALT STRESS ON YIELD USING PHENOMIC, IONOMIC AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC APPROACHES. AIM 1 OF THIS PROPOSAL WILL ASSESS THE EFFECT OF HIGH NIGHT TEMPERATURE COMBINED WITH SALT STRESS ON THE YIELD AND SEED/LEAF IONOMIC COMPOSITION OF 8 GENOTYPES (HEAT/SALT SENSITIVE, HEAT/SALT TOLERANT). AIM 2 WILL EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF HIGH NIGHT TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY STRESS ON QUINOA SALT EPIDERMAL BLADDERS AND POLLEN MORPHOLOGY. AIM 3 WILL USE TRANSCRIPTOMICS TO IDENTIFY COMMON AND SPECIFIC GENES RESPONDING TO COMBINED STRESS CONDITIONS THAT WILL HELP UNDERSTAND TOLERANCE MECHANISMS THAT THAT PLANT IS USING IN ORDER TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM THE ABIOTIC STRESSES APPLIED.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EAGER: DEVELOPMENT OF AN ARTIFICIAL CHROMOSOME SYSTEM IN CHLAMYDOMONAS BASED ON CENH3 TETHERING

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ABI INNOVATION: ALGORITHMS FOR RECOVERING ROOT ARCHITECTURE FROM 3D IMAGING

**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE WORLD'S POPULATION IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE BY TWO BILLION OVER THE NEXT 30 YEARS, AND ASIT GROWSSO TOO WILL OUR FOOD REQUIREMENTS.IN ORDER TO MEETPRESENT AND FUTURE FOOD DEMANDS, FARMERS IN THE USA AND AROUND THE WORLD WILL BE CHALLENGED TO PRODUCE MORE FOOD ON THE SAME AMOUNT OF LAND, WITH THE SAME, OR IN SOME CASES LESS RESOURCES, WHILE MITIGATING HARM TO THE ENVIRONMENT. TO MAXIMIZE YIELD, FARMERS OFTEN SUPPLEMENT SYNTHETIC NITROGEN (N) TO THEIR CROPS VIA INORGANIC N-FERTILIZERS, WHICH MAKES UP A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THEIR OPERATING COSTS. THE FORM OF NITROGEN FOUND IN N-FERTILIZERS IS HIGHLY MOBILE IN SOIL AND A LARGE PORTION OF THE APPLIED NITROGEN NEVER REACHES ITS INTENDED CROP TARGETS. IN FACT, AGRICULTURE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ELEVATED LOADS OF NITROGEN IN OUR SURFACE AND GROUNDWATER, CAUSING A SPECTRUM OF PROBLEMS, INCLUDING LOW OXYGEN WATER, OR DEAD ZONES, WHICH POSE SERIOUS THREATS TO HUMAN HEALTH AND TO THE ENVIRONMENT. AS IT STANDS, WE CANNOT ELIMINATE THE USE OF N-FERTILIZERS, BUT WE CAN OPTIMIZE THEIR USE. TO MEET LOCAL AND GLOBAL FOOD CHALLENGES, THE EFFICIENCY BY WHICH WE USE N-FERTILIZERS MUST IMPROVE. ONE SOLUTION IS TO MAXIMIZE NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY (NUE) - THE AMOUNT OF NITROGEN FOUND IN FOOD VERSUS THE AMOUNT OF NITROGEN APPLIED.INTERESTINGLY, SOYBEAN PLANTS, WHICH ACCOUNT FOR ROUGHLY A THIRD OF ALL US CROPLAND, CAN ACQUIRE MOST OF THEIR NITROGEN REQUIREMENTS WITH THE HELP OF SOIL BACTERIA, KNOWN AS RHIZOBIA. WHEN SOYBEANS AND MOST OTHER LEGUMES (I.E., PEAS, LENTILS, AND CLOVER) FIND THEMSELVES IN N-DEFICIENT SOILS, THEY STRIKE UP A CHEMICAL CONVERSATION WITH RHIZOBIA, INITIATING THE GROWTH OF DOZENS OF ENTIRELY NEW ROOT ORGANS, CALLED NODULES. WITHIN THESE NODULES, THOUSANDS OF RHIZOBIA CONVERT EXISTING NITROGEN GAS (~80% OF OUR ATMOSPHERE IS NITROGEN GAS) INTO A FORM OF NITROGEN THAT PLANTS CAN USE. THIS PROCESS IS CALLED SYMBIOTIC NITROGEN FIXATION (SNF). ALTERNATIVELY, HIGH LEVELS OF SOIL NITROGEN FROM FERTILIZERS TERMINATE SNFIN A PROCESS CALLED NITROGEN-INDUCED NODULE SENESCENCE (NIS), WHICH IS THE FOCUS OF MY RESEARCH. I WANT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW EXCESS NITROGEN FROM SYNTHETIC INORGANIC N-FERTILIZERS ENDS OR INHIBITS THE BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOYBEANS AND RHIZOBIA. I WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH APPLIED NITROGEN IS REQUIRED FOR NIS, AND WHICH SOYBEAN GENES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR RESPONDING TO EXCESS NITROGEN AND TERMINATING SNF. I ALSO WANT TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER DIFFERENT SOYBEAN VARIETIES HAVE A HIGHER THRESHOLD OR TOLERANCE TO THE PRESENCE OF EXCESS NITROGEN, ALLOWING SNF TO PERSIST WITH HIGHER SOIL NITROGEN LEVELS, WHILE SUSTAINING CURRENT YIELDS.SNF IS AVAILABLE TO SOYBEAN FARMERS AT LITTLE TO NO COST AND IT IS ADVANTAGEOUS TO LEVERAGE MAXIMUM SNF COMBINED WITH MINIMAL APPLIED NITROGEN. THE VARIETY-SPECIFIC DATA OBTAINED WILL ENABLE FARMERS SEEKING HIGH YIELDS, GREATER THAN 60 BUSHELS/ACRE (ONE BUSHEL OF SOYBEAN IS 60 POUNDS), TO MORE PRECISELY DETERMINE THE AMOUNT AND TIME OF N-FERTILIZER APPLICATION, HELPING TO MAXIMIZE THEIR YIELD WITHOUT TERMINATING SNF. THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THIS RESEARCH WILL RESULT IN IMPROVED SOYBEAN N-MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND INCREASE SOYBEAN'S NUE BY PROVIDING NEW NUE BREEDING MARKERS.TO OPTIMIZE SOYBEAN NUE AND N-MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, I WILL USE CUTTING-EDGE IMAGING (USING X-RAY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY SYSTEM (XRT) COUPLED WITH MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS), COMBINED WITH INNOVATIVE TRANSCRIPTOMIC APPROACHES (HIGH RESOLUTION, NEAR SINGLE-CELL RNA SEQUENCING, KNOWN AS SPATIAL TRANSCRIPTOMICS). TRANSCRIPTOMICS TELLS US WHICH GENES ARE ON OR OFF AT A SPECIFIC TIME, AND AT WHAT LEVELS THEY ARE EXPRESSED. SPATIAL TRANSCRIPTOMICS TELLS US NOT ONLY WHICH GENES AND THEIR EXPRESSION LEVELS, BUT ALSO INCORPORATES IMAGING TECHNOLOGY TO OBSERVE WHERE THEY ARE BEING EXPRESSED AT NEAR SINGLE-CELL RESOLUTION. XRT WILL ALLOW ME TO VISUALIZE SOYBEAN ROOTS AND THEIR NODULES DIRECTLY IN THE SOIL, WITHOUT DISTURBING THEM, DURING DIFFERENT NITROGEN TREATMENTS. USING THE ABOVE TECHNOLOGIES, I WILL EVALUATE SEVERAL VARIABLES KNOWN TO INFLUENCE NIS INCLUDING NITROGEN CONCENTRATION, TIME OF APPLICATION, AND PERCENTAGE OF ROOTS SENSING APPLIED NITROGEN, IN FIVE ELITE SOYBEAN VARIETIES, AS WELL AS THREE ACCESSIONS OF AN UNDOMESTICATED WILD-TYPE RELATIVE OF SOYBEAN. STUDIES LIKE THIS, WILL NOT ONLY PROVIDE DATA THAT IS DIRECTLY APPLICABLE TO OPTIMIZE FARMING N-MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, SAVING FARMERS MONEY AND DECREASING THE PRESENCE OF LOST NITROGEN TO OUR WATERWAYS, IT WILL ALSO HIGHLIGHT NEW RESEARCH TECHNOLOGIES, ARMING RESEARCHERS WITH MORE TOOLS TO ADVANCE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND SUSTAINABLE FARMING IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

DISCOVERY AND CHARACTERIZATION OF GENES AND NETWORKS CONTROLLING SEED QUALITY TRAITS - OBJECTIVE 1: PRODUCE AND CHARACTERIZE TRANSGENIC SOYBEAN WITH MODIFIED ACTIVITIES OF 3 PROTEIN ALLELES. OBJECTIVE 2: CHARACTERIZE THE NOVEL QTL ON CHR20 AND THE GENETIC INTERACTION OF THE THREE MAJOR QTL ON PROTEIN, OIL AND SEED WEIGHT. OBJECTIVE 3: ILLUSTRATE DIVERSE BIOLOGICAL NETWORKS ASSOCIATED WITH PROTEIN QTL GENES AND PROTEIN CONTENT. OBJECTIVE 4: DEVELOP AND APPLY FUNCTIONAL MARKERS FOR THE THREE QTL FOR USE IN SOYBEAN PROTEIN BREEDING.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ASYNCHRONOUS DISCUSSIONS TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN SCIENTIFIC ARGUMENTATION

ROLES OF MEIOTIC-STAGE NON-CODING RNAS IN MAIZE ANTHER DEVELOPMENT -POLLEN PRODUCTION AND REGULATION OF PLANT FERTILITY ARE ESSENTIAL TO AGRICULTURE. HYBRID CORN AND OTHER GRAINS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY BOOSTED WORLD FOOD PRODUCTION. THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE FUNCTIONS OF RNAS THAT SUPPORT POLLEN DEVELOPMENT IN ANTHERS (THE ORGANS THAT MAKE POLLEN IN FLOWERING PLANTS). THE PROJECT WILL UTILIZE PLANT GENOMICS AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY TO DETERMINE THE BIOLOGICAL ROLES OF SMALL RNAS AND THE PROTEINS THAT UTILIZE THEM FOR ANTHER FUNCTIONS. THESE RNAS ARE REQUIRED FOR ROBUST MALE FERTILITY: IN THE ABSENCE OF THE SMALL RNAS, AT NORMAL TEMPERATURES, DEVELOPMENT FAILS, YIELDING MALE STERILITY. FERTILITY CAN BE RESCUED UNDER LOWER TEMPERATURES, LINKING ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS TO THE ROLE OF THESE SMALL RNAS. THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON MAIZE BECAUSE IT IS AN OPTIMAL SYSTEM FOR THE PROPOSED EXPERIMENTS; PLUS, MALE FERTILITY IS KEY TO THE PRODUCTION OF HYBRID CORN SEED. OUTCOMES OF THIS PROJECT COULD INCLUDE IMPROVED CONTROL OF MALE FERTILITY IN GRASS CROPS. BROADER IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE TRAINING OF STUDENTS IN PLANT AND RNA BIOLOGY. THE PROJECT WILL FOCUS SPECIFICALLY ON THE CLASS OF 24-NT PHASED, SECONDARY SIRNAS, KNOWN AS ?24-NT PHASIRNAS? THAT ARE HIGHLY ENRICHED IN MEIOTIC-STAGE ANTHERS. THE PROJECT WILL CHARACTERIZE PHENOTYPES AND MOLECULAR GENETIC ANALYSIS OF LOSS-OF-FUNCTION KNOCK-OUTS INCLUDING THE DICER-LIKE5 (DCL5) GENE, FOR WHICH THE PRELIMINARY DATA DEMONSTRATE MALE STERILITY. THE QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED BY THIS PROJECT INCLUDE WHICH BASIC HELIX-LOOP-HELIX TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS FUNCTION TO ACTIVATE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE 24-NT PHASIRNAS? HOW DOES THE CORE BIOGENESIS PROTEIN DCL5 FUNCTION, AND WHAT IS THE EXACT NATURE OF THE PHENOTYPE OF STERILITY IN ITS ABSENCE? ARE THERE GENETIC MODIFIERS OF THE DCL5 CONDITIONAL PHENOTYPE IN OTHER BACKGROUNDS OF MAIZE? WHAT ARE THE KEY CATALYTIC ARGONAUTE PROTEINS THAT LOAD THE 24-NT PHASIRNAS FOR THEIR FUNCTION? AND WHAT ARE THE TARGET RNAS WITH WHICH THE PHASIRNA-LOADED ARGONAUTE PROTEINS INTERACT? THIS AWARD WAS CO-FUNDED BY THE GENETIC MECHANISMS CLUSTER IN THE DIVISION OF MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOSCIENCES AND THE PLANT GENOME RESEARCH PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF INTEGRATIVE ORGANISMAL SYSTEMS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

IDENTIFYING EIF4E-SUSCEPTIBILITY FACTORS AND FUNCTIONALLY DISSECTING STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS ENABLING THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH POTYVIRAL VPG VIRULENCE

WE NEED TO IMPROVE GRAIN PRODUCTIVITY UNDER RAISING GLOBAL TEMPERATURES, TO FEED A GROWING POPULATION. QUINOA IS A GRAIN CROP THAT PRODUCES A HIGHLY NUTRITIOUS GRAIN. THERE IS GROWING INTEREST IN CULTIVATING QUINOA IN THE UNITED STATES, BECAUSE OF ITS NUTRITIONAL QUALITIES, ACCEPTANCE AMONG CONSUMERS, AND GOOD MARKET PRICE. HOWEVER, QUINOA LOSES 60 TO 85% OF ITS YIELD WHEN EXPOSED TO THE HIGH TEMPERATURES (APPROXIMATELY 35°C) OF THE SUMMER TIME IN MOST PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES. OUR PREVIOUS STUDIES SHOWED THAT HEAT INDUCES QUINOA FLOWERS TO CLOSE, POTENTIALLY LIMITING POLLINATION, AND THEREFORE CAUSING YIELD LOSS. THIS RESEARCH DIRECTLY STUDIES THE IMPACT OF FLOWER CLOSING ON QUINOA YIELD UNDER THE HIGH TEMPERATURES COMMON DURING SUMMER TIME (APPROXIMATELY 35°C), AND INVESTIGATES HOW THIS HIGH TEMPERATURE AFFECTS THE NUTRIENT CONTENT OF QUINOA GRAIN. FURTHER, THIS RESEARCH WILL IDENTIFY GENES AND GENETIC LOCI THAT INFLUENCE YIELD AND NUTRIENT CONTENT OF QUINOA GRAIN UNDER THESE HIGH TEMPERATURES. THE NEW KNOWLEDGE RESULTING FROM THIS RESEARCH WILL HELP SCIENTISTS BETTER UNDERSTAND GRAIN CROP PRODUCTIVITY UNDER HIGH TEMPERATURE, AND HOW PLANTS RESPOND TO HIGH TEMPERATURES ON A BASIC LEVEL. THIS NEW KNOWLEDGE MAY ALSO HELP BREEDING EFFORTS TO CREATE NEW QUINOA AND OTHER GRAIN CROP VARIETIES THAT ARE HIGH YIELDING AND HAVE HIGH NUTRIENT CONTENT, ESPECIALLY UNDER HIGH TEMPERATURES.

**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** IN 2019, AGRICULTURE AND ITS RELATED INDUSTRIES CONTRIBUTED $1.1 TRILLION TO THE UNITED STATES GDP AND PROVIDED ALMOST 11% OF THE COUNTRY'S EMPLOYMENT. GIVEN THE SERVICES IT PROVIDES-FEEDING, EMPLOYING, AND FINANCING THE COUNTRY-AGRICULTURE PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE FOR THE UNITED STATES, AND WE THEREFORE MUST MAINTAIN AND BOLSTER THE AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE. AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENTISTS ARE IN GROWING DEMAND (U.S. BLS 2021), BUT CURRENTLY WHITE SCIENTISTS ARE OVERREPRESENTED, AND WOMEN ARE UNDER-REPRESENTED WITHIN THE WORKFORCE (US. CENSUS BUREAU 2019). ADDITIONALLY, THE DATA IS ENTIRELY LACKING IN HOW THESE SCIENTISTS WERE FIRST INTRODUCED TO AG SCIENCE AND IN WHAT LANDSCAPE THEY GREW UP - RURAL, URBAN, SUBURBAN, OR A COMBINATION. THIS MISSING DATA IS CRUCIAL, AS RURAL STUDENTS LAG IN PURSUING A COLLEGE DEGREE, YET AGRICULTURAL DEGREES ARE KNOWN TO ATTRACT STUDENTS FROM FARMING AND RURAL BACKGROUNDS (DYER ET AL. 2000; NCES 2015; FOREMAN ET AL. 2018). WITH RURAL POPULATIONS DECLINING, SOME AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS RECOGNIZE THEY MUST ADAPT TO SUCCESSFULLY RECRUIT A CHANGING DEMOGRAPHIC (FOREMAN ET AL. 2018), BUT LITERATURE ON HOW TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN YOUTH TO AG SCIENCE IS LARGELY MISSING.TO ADDRESS THESE CRUCIAL GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE, THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND DEPLOY SURVEYS TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE PROGRAMS AND PRE-COLLEGIATE STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL ACTIVITIES. THE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SURVEY RESPONSES WILL BE ANALYZED TO COMPARE STUDENT DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS ACROSS GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS, DISCOVER COMMON MOTIVATIONS THAT DROVE STUDENTS TO PURSUE AGRICULTURE, AND IDENTIFY GAPS IN SUPPORT THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED BY COLLEGE PROGRAMS. THE PRE-COLLEGIATE STUDENT SURVEY RESPONSES WILL BE ANALYZED TO EVALUATE HOW YOUTH PERCEPTIONS TOWARD AG SCIENCE CHANGE AFTER DIFFERENT DOSAGES OF CLASS AG SCIENCE ACTIVITIES: FIELD TRIP (LOW DOSAGE), CITIZEN SCIENCE (MEDIUM DOSAGE), AND ARE (HIGH DOSAGE). THE RESULTS WILL BE USED TO INFORM TEACHERS AND OUTREACH ORGANIZERS HOW DIFFERENT DOSAGE LEVELS OF AG SCIENCE IMPACT STUDENTS, ALLOWING THEM TO MAXIMIZE STUDENT OUTCOMES GIVEN TIME RESTRICTIONS THAT TEACHERS AND STUDENTS MIGHT FACE.

UNDERSTANDING THE REGULATION AND DYNAMICS OF RHIZOME DEVELOPMENT IN THE PERENNIAL TEOSINTE ZEA DIPLOPERENNIS

IDENTIFYING COMPONENTS REQUIRED FOR THE TRANSPORT AND EXUDATION OF THE ALLELE CHEMICAL SORGOLEONE IN SORGHUM BICOLOR

MOLECULAR BASIS AND REDOX-REGULATION OF PLANT GLUTATHIONE BIOSYNTHESIS

THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE COLD TOLERANCE IN SORGHUM BICOLOR BY (1) QUANTITATIVELY MEASURING BASAL AND ACCLIMATED COLD TOLERANCE AND UNCOVERING THE GENETIC BASIS COLD TOLERANCE AND (2) BY EXPLORING CROSSTALK BETWEEN THE PLANT HORMONE ABSCISIC ACID (ABA) SIGNALING AND COLD ACCLIMATION SIGNALING. SORGHUM BICOLOR (SORGHUM) IS AN IMPORTANT STAPLE CEREAL AND FORAGE CROP IN FOOD-LIMITED AREAS OF THE WORLD AND A PROMISING BIOFUEL FEEDSTOCK IN THE UNITED STATES. IT IS KNOWN FOR ITS DROUGHT AND HEAT RESILIENCE, BUT OVERALL SORGHUM YIELD IS LIMITED BY ITS SENSITIVITY TO COLD TEMPERATURES. COLD ACCLIMATION IS A PROCESS BY WHICH PLANTS ARE BETTER ABLE TO SURVIVE COLD TEMPERATURES AFTER EXPOSURE TO NON-LETHAL LOW TEMPERATURES. SINCE COLD ACCLIMATION HAS NOT PREVIOUSLY BEEN EVALUATED IN THE SORGHUM, THIS STUDY WILL QUANTITATIVELY MEASURE BASAL AND ACCLIMATED COLD TOLERANCE OF A SORGHUM POPULATION DESIGNED TO STUDY COLD TOLERANCE AND IDENTIFY GENOME REGIONS ASSOCIATED WITH VARIATION IN COLD TOLERANCE. EVIDENCE FROM OTHER PLANT SPECIES SUGGESTS THAT TREATMENT WITH THE PLANT HORMONE ABA IMPROVES COLD TOLERANCE, SO THIS STUDY WILL ALSO EVALUATE THE ABILITY OF ABA APPLICATION TO IMPROVE COLD TOLERANCE OF SORGHUM AND ANALYZE THE GENE EXPRESSION OF ABA- AND COLD-TREATED SEEDLINGS TO UNCOVER INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN THE TWO SIGNALING PATHWAYS. UNDERSTANDING VARIATION IN COLD TOLERANCE AMONG SORGHUM GENOTYPES WILL FURTHER EFFORTS TO BREED SORGHUM THAT IS MORE RESILIENT TO COLD TEMPERATURES AND EXPAND THE RANGE THAT SORGHUM CAN BE PLANTED IN AND ULTIMATELY INCREASE SORGHUM YIELDS.

DISCOVERY OF TRAIT GENES, ALLELES, GERMPLASM AND FUNCTIONAL MARKERS FOR SOYBEAN SEED QUALITY IMPROVEMENT - COOPERATOR WILL PERFORM THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES: 1. DISCOVER SOYBEAN QTL GENES AND GENE CANDIDATES REGULATING OIL CONTENT: 2. DISCOVER NEW BENEFICIAL ALLELES AND SOYBEAN ACCESSIONS USING AN IN-SILICO GENOTYPING PIPELINE. 3: DEVELOP A COLLECTION OF FUNCTIONAL/PERFECT DNA MARKERS FOR MOLECULAR MARKER ASSISTANT SELECTION.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CPS: TTP OPTION: MEDIUM: SHARING FARM INTELLIGENCE VIA EDGE COMPUTING -IN THE ERA OF DATA SHARING, IT IS STILL CHALLENGING, INSECURE, AND TIME-CONSUMING FOR SCIENTISTS TO SHARE LESSONS LEARNED FROM AGRICULTURAL DATA COLLECTION AND DATA PROCESSING. THE FOCUS OF THIS PROJECT IS TO MITIGATE SUCH CHALLENGES BY INTERSECTING EXPERTISE IN PLANT SCIENCE, SECURE NETWORKED SYSTEMS, SOFTWARE ENGINEERING, AND GEOSPATIAL SCIENCE. THE PROPOSED CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEM WILL BE EVALUATED IN THE LABORATORY AND DEPLOYED ON REAL CROP FARMS IN MISSOURI, ILLINOIS, AND TENNESSEE. ALL RESULTS WILL BE SHARED WITH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS WHOSE GOAL IS TO INCREASE FOOD SECURITY AND IMPROVE HUMAN HEALTH AND NUTRITION. THE PROPOSED SYSTEM WILL SECURELY ORCHESTRATE DATA GATHERED USING SENSORS, SUCH AS HYPERSPECTRAL AND THERMAL CAMERAS TO COLLECT IMAGERY ON SOYBEAN, SORGHUM, AND OTHER CROPS. PREPROCESSED PLANT DATASETS WILL BE THEN OFFERED TO SCIENTISTS AND FARMERS IN DIFFERENT FORMATS VIA A WEB-BASED SYSTEM, READY TO BE PROCESSED BY DEEP LEARNING ALGORITHMS OR CONSUMED BY THIN CLIENTS. DATA COLLECTED FROM DIFFERENT CROP FARMS WILL BE USED TO TRAIN DISTRIBUTED DEEP LEARNING SYSTEMS, USING NOVEL ARCHITECTURES THAT OPTIMIZE PRIVACY AND TRAINING TIME. SUCH MACHINE LEARNING SYSTEMS WILL BE USED TO PREDICT PLANT STRESS AND DETECT PATHOGENS. FINALLY, THE CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEM WILL INTEGRATE NOVEL DATA PROCESSING SOFTWARE WITH EXISTING NSF-FUNDED HARDWARE PLATFORMS, INTRODUCING NOVEL ALGORITHMIC CONTRIBUTIONS IN EDGE COMPUTING AND GIVING FEEDBACK TO FARMERS, CLOSING THE LOOP. THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL IMPACT RESEARCH ON HIGH-VALUE CROPS WITH SIGNIFICANT LEVELS OF AUTOMATION, SUCH AS THOSE IN PROTECTED AGRICULTURE AND FISH CROP HYDROPONICS SYSTEMS IN DESERT FARMING. PLANNED OUTREACH ACTIVITIES WILL IMPACT SOLUTIONS FOR SMALLHOLDER FARMERS THAT COLLABORATORS AT THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN THE DRY AREAS (ICARDA) SUPPORT. ALTHOUGH THIS WORK WILL FOCUS ON ENABLING DATA SCIENCE FOR FARMING APPLICATIONS, THE WORK WILL ALSO INFORM MANAGEMENT OF OTHER IOT APPLICATIONS, E.G., SMART AND CONNECTED HEALTHCARE OR OTHER CYBER-HUMAN SYSTEMS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

EXPERIENTIAL PLANT SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURE EDUCATION USING VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY

DISSECTING THE JASMONATE SIGNALING NETWORK IN SETARIA VIRIDIS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: IDEAS LAB: THE ROLE OF EXTRACELLULAR RNA IN INTERCELLULAR AND INTERKINGDOM COMMUNICATION -THIS PROJECT IS A COLLABORATION AMONG SEVEN LABORATORIES WITH DIVERSE AND COMPLEMENTARY EXPERTISE. THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF EXTRACELLULAR RNA (EXRNA) IN COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CELLS AND IN SHAPING THE COMMUNITY OF MICROBES, ESPECIALLY BACTERIA, THAT LIVE ON AND INSIDE PLANTS, INSECTS, AND HUMANS. THESE COLLECTIONS OF MICROBES ARE OFTEN REFERRED TO AS MICROBIOMES AND ARE CRITICAL FOR THE HEALTH OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS, INCLUDING HUMANS. A HEALTHY MICROBIOME PROMOTES A HEALTHY IMMUNE SYSTEM, BUT HOW HEALTHY MICROBIOMES ARE MAINTAINED IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. THIS PROJECT WILL TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT RNA SECRETED BY HOST CELLS PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN MAINTAINING HEALTH BOTH THROUGH COMMUNICATION AMONG CELLS AND BY MODIFYING THE MICROBIOME. RNA IS BEST KNOWN FOR ITS KEY ROLE IN PROTEIN PRODUCTION INSIDE CELLS, SUCH AS IN RNA-BASED COVID VACCINES. HOWEVER, NOT ALL RNA ENCODES PROTEINS, AND CELLS PRODUCE MORE NON-CODING RNA THAN CODING RNA, SOME OF WHICH IS ACTIVELY PUSHED INTO THE ENVIRONMENT BY CELLS. THIS SECRETED RNA APPEARS TO BE TAKEN UP BY OTHER CELLS, INCLUDING BACTERIA AND FUNGI, WHERE IT COULD POTENTIALLY IMPACT THEIR GROWTH. UNDERSTANDING HOW EXRNAS SHAPE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CELLS AND ORGANISMS WILL ENABLE MANIPULATION OF EXRNA COMMUNICATION IN BOTH AGRICULTURE AND MEDICINE, WHICH WILL LEAD TO DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PESTICIDES, AS WELL AS TREATMENTS THAT PROMOTE FORMATION OF HEALTHY MICROBIOMES IN BOTH PLANTS AND ANIMALS. THIS KNOWLEDGE WILL ALSO ENABLE DEVELOPMENT OF DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC TOOLS FOR EARLY DETECTION AND/OR TREATMENT OF DISEASE. ALL CELLULAR ORGANISMS SECRETE RNAS. THE FUNCTIONS OF THESE EXTRACELLULAR RNAS (EXRNAS), HOWEVER, ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. TWO LIKELY FUNCTIONS ARE INTERCELLULAR AND INTERKINGDOM COMMUNICATION. OPEN QUESTIONS ABOUND IN EXRNA BIOLOGY: HOW ARE EXRNAS SELECTED FOR SECRETION, HOW ARE THEY TARGETED TO RECIPIENT CELLS, AND WHAT ARE THEIR ROLES IN NORMAL HEALTH AND ORGANISMAL FITNESS? ARABIDOPSIS LEAF EXRNA ISOLATES ARE HIGHLY ENRICHED IN THE POST-TRANSCRIPTIONAL MODIFICATION N6-METHYLADENOSINE (M6A) (AS COMPARED TO TOTAL CELLULAR RNA) SUGGESTING THAT POST-TRANSCRIPTIONAL MODIFICATIONS MAY TAG SPECIFIC RNAS FOR EXPORT. CONSISTENT WITH THIS, HUMAN EXOSOMAL MICRORNAS ARE ENRICHED WITH M6A (RELATIVE TO CYTOSOLIC MICRORNAS). INTERESTINGLY, A LARGE NUMBER OF MAMMALIAN SMALL NON-CODING RNAS (NCRNAS) THAT LOCALIZE TO THE EXTERNAL CELL SURFACE WERE RECENTLY FOUND TO HARBOR SPECIFIC SIALYLATED GLYCAN MODIFICATIONS. THESE OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST THAT SPECIFIC RNA MODIFICATIONS TAG RNAS FOR CELLULAR EXPORT AND DIRECT ENTRY INTO APPROPRIATE RECIPIENT CELLS. THIS PROJECT WILL 1) TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT EXRNAS HAVE SPECIFIC FEATURES MARKING THEM FOR SECRETION AND UPTAKE, BOTH WITHIN AND AMONG SPECIES, 2) DETERMINE HOW EXRNAS ARE TRANSFERRED FROM SIGNALER TO RECEIVER CELLS, AND 3) ASSESS THE IMPACT OF EXRNA ON MICROBIOME HEALTH AND COMPOSITION THROUGH EXAMINING HUMAN GUT, INSECT GUT, AND LEAF SURFACE MODELS. THIS PROJECT WAS CO-FUNDED BY THE DIRECTORATE FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, AND THE PLANT GENOME RESEARCH PROGRAM AND THE PLANT BIOTIC INTERACTIONS PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF INTEGRATIVE ORGANISMAL SYSTEMS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

ENHANCING STABLE PROTEIN LEVELS IN DEVELOPING SOYBEAN SEEDS - THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO ENHANCE THE SEED QUALITY IN SOYBEANS BY LIMITING PRODUCTION OF CARBOHYDRATES THAT ARE NOT DIGESTIBLE AND INCREASING THE FINAL CONCENTRATION OF OIL.

DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATIVE AND BIG-DATA DRIVEN TECHNOLOGIES FOR SOYBEAN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

MICROARRAY BASED DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM FOR PLANT VIRUSES

QUANTITATIVE GENETICS OF CHLAMYDOMONAS REINHARDTII FOR GENE IDENTIFICATION AND BREEDING OF DESIRABLE TRAITS FOR BIOFUEL PRODUCTION

IDENTIFICATION OF SMALL RNA-BASED REGULATORY NETWORKS IN CAMELINA SATIVA

GENOMICS AND PHENOMICS TO IDENTIFY YIELD AND DROUGHT TOLERANCE ALLELES FOR IMPROVEMENT OF CAMELINA AS A BIOFUEL CROP - SUSTAINABLE, ALTERNATIVE FUELS REPRESENT A PROMISING SOLUTION TO HELP REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS, EXPAND DOMESTIC ENERGY SOURCES, CONTRIBUTE TO PRICE AND SUPPLY STABILITY, AND STIMULATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL COMMUNITIES. THE SUCCESS OF BIOFUELS LIES IN FINDING INEXPENSIVE FEEDSTOCKS THAT DO NOT COMPETE WITH FOOD CROPS AND CAN BE CULTIVATED ECONOMICALLY IN DIVERSE GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS. THESE ALTERNATIVE SOURCES MUST BE RENEWABLE, WITH POSITIVE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE. CAMELINA (CAMELINA SATIVA) IS AN OLD WORLD CROP NEWLY INTRODUCED TO THE SEMIARID WEST OF THE UNITED STATES. CAMELINA IS LOWER YIELDING THAN CANOLA (FOOD OIL CROP), BUT MORE COMPATIBLE WITH SHORTER PRODUCTION CYCLES (60-90 DAYS) THAT HAVE POTENTIAL FOR SPRINGSOWN CROP ROTATIONS. THE CROP ALSO GROWS FAIRLY WELL IN MARGINAL LANDS, WITH LOW INPUTS, AND HAS A HIGH OIL CONTENT (~35%). THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DISCOVER USEFUL GENE/ALLELES CONTROLLING SEED YIELD AND OIL CONTENT AND QUALITY FOR BIOFUELS UNDER SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS AND CHARACTERIZE NOVEL GERMPLASM WITH ENHANCED OILSEED FEEDSTOCK CHARACTERISTICS TO DEVELOP NEWLY ADAPTED, HIGH-YIELDING CULTIVARS FOR THESE SYSTEMS. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE WORK ARE TO 1) DEVELOP AUTOMATED, NON-DESTRUCTIVE HIGH-THROUGHPUT PHENOTYPING (HTP) PROTOCOLS TO EVALUATE GENETIC DIVERSITY ACCESSION PANELS OF CAMELINA; 2) DISCOVER ALLELES/GENES CONTROLLING MORPHOLOGICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL, SEED, AND OIL YIELD PROPERTIES USING GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES (GWAS); AND 3) TEST SELECTED GERMPLASM UNDER DIVERSE ENVIRONMENTS AND MARGINAL PRODUCTION AREAS TO IDENTIFY REGIONALLY ADAPTED CULTIVARS.

PRODUCTION AND VALIDATION OF A UNIVERSAL PLANT VIRUS MICROARRAY

GENERATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SOYBEAN CONTAINING EDITED GENES FOR SEED QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

PRODUCTION AND VALIDATION OF A UNIVERSAL PLANT VIRUS MICROARRAY

AB INITIO GENE FINDING IN MAIZE

** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THIS PROJECT AIMS TO IMPROVE AGRONOMIC TRAITS OF PENNYCRESS TO ENHANCE ITS POTENTIAL AS AN EMERGING CASH COVER CROP THROUGH A UNIQUE ACCELERATED BREEDING APPROACH THAT LEVERAGES COMPUTATIONAL SIMULATIONS AND GENE-EDITING TECHNOLOGIES. COVER CROPS CAN REDUCE SOIL EROSION AND IMPROVE SOIL HEALTH, BUT THEY ADOPTION OF COVER CROPPING AS MANAGEMENT PRACTICE IS HINDERED BY IMPLEMENTATION COST AND POTENTIAL CASH CROP YIELD LOSS. PENNYCRESS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE SOIL HEALTH BENEFITS AND GENERATE 879 LITERS/HA OF SEED OIL THAT CAN BE CONVERTED INTO BIODIESEL AND BIO-JET FUELS. HOWEVER, PENNYCRESS IS ONLY PARTIALLY DOMESTICATED, AND EFFORTS TO IMPROVE AGRONOMIC TRAITS SUCH AS FLOWERING TIME, SEED QUALITY, AND STRESS TOLERANCE ARE ONGOING.TO ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCIALLY VIABLE PENNYCRESS, THIS PROJECT WILL LEVERAGE COMPUTATIONAL PROTEIN SIMULATION METHODS TO IDENTIFY BENEFICIAL VARIANTS TO THE TARGET GENE, THE E1 COMPONENT OF THE ODGH ENZYME COMPLEX, THAT RESULT IN EARLIER FLOWERING TIMES, LARGER SEED SIZES, AND IMPROVED ROOT SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE. POTENTIAL GENE VARIANTS WILL BE INTRODUCED INTO PENNYCRESS PLANTS USING CRISPR-CAS GENE EDITING TECHNOLOGIES TO GENERATE PLANT VARIETIES WITH THE PRECISE GENE VARIANT OF INTEREST. THESE PLANT VARIETIES WILL THEN BE EVALUATED AT SEEDLING STAGE AND AT MATURITY TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF THE GENE EDIT ON PLANT ABOVEGROUND AND BELOWGROUND GROWTH AS WELL AS OIL QUALITY. AGRONOMIC TRAITS SUCH AS FLOWERING TIME AND SEED SIZE WILL ALSO BE MEASURED AND EVALUATED. IMPROVED PENNYCRESS VARIETIES PRODUCED FROM THIS WORK HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BRING PENNYCRESS CLOSER TO MARKET AS A CASH COVER CROP AND ENABLE A CIRCULAR BIOECONOMY FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION.

DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATIVE BIG-DATA DRIVEN TECHNOLOGIES FOR SOYBEAN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

PHYSIOLOGICAL GENOMICS WORKSHOP IN ST. LOUIS, MO, APRIL 2020: FINDING AND MENDING THE KNOWLEDGE GAPS BETWEEN PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND PLANT FUNCTIONAL GENETICS/GENOMICS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EAGER/TOOLS4CELLS: TRANSLATING SINGLE CELL DATA INTO AN ULTRA-HIGH RESOLUTION SPATIAL MAP USING FLUORESCENT MARKER GENES -RECENT TECHNICAL ADVANCES IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY NOW MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO DETERMINE THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF MESSENGER RNA TRANSCRIPTS WITHIN EACH INDIVIDUAL CELL OF A MULTICELLULAR ORGANISM. THIS TECHNOLOGY, KNOWN AS SINGLE-CELL RNA SEQUENCING (SCRNA-SEQ), HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE BROADLY APPLIED IN PLANTS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THEIR DEVELOPMENT, EVOLUTION, AND STRESS RESPONSES. IN THIS PROJECT, THE PLANT ROOT WILL BE USED AS A MODEL ORGAN TO CONSTRUCT AN ULTRA-HIGH-RESOLUTION 3D-MODEL DISPLAYING GENE EXPRESSION DATA FROM INDIVIDUAL CELLS EMBEDDED IN THIS MODEL. USING THIS METHOD, A USER CAN LOCATE CELLS LABELED BY A FLUORESCENT MARKER IN A PLANT ORGAN AND DETERMINE THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF THOUSANDS OF GENES IN BOTH LABELED AND UNLABELED CELLS. THIS TOOL CAN ALSO BE USED TO COMBINE FLUORESCENT IMAGES FROM DIFFERENT REPORTER GENES TO UNDERSTAND THE SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCES OF GENE EXPRESSION FOR BOTH THE MARKER GENE AND OTHER GENES EXPRESSED IN THE SAME SAMPLE. THE BROADER IMPACTS OF THE WORK INCLUDE THE INTRINSIC MERIT OF THE RESEARCH RESULTS, WHICH WILL BE DISSEMINATED TO THE BROAD RESEARCH COMMUNITY VIA THE PLANT CELL ATLAS (PCA). THESE RESULTS WILL INCLUDE PROTOCOLS FOR COLLECTING IMAGE DATA, A COMPUTATIONAL PIPELINE FOR CONSTRUCTING 3D IMAGES, AND A METHOD TO ANNOTATE AND ASSIGN CELL TYPES IN A CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF PLANT ROOTS. THE COMPUTATIONAL PIPELINE FOR IMAGE ANALYSIS AND MACHINE LEARNING WILL BE DEPOSITED TO PUBLIC REPOSITORY WITH DETAILED DOCUMENTATION AND USER MANUALS AND PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS. RESEARCH TRAINING WILL BE PROVIDED TO GRADUATE STUDENTS AND A POST-DOC AND, THROUGH A COLLABORATION WITH VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY, TRAINING WORKSHOPS WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR ADVANCED GENOMIC DATA ANALYSIS FOR VSU STUDENTS. CONNECTING SPATIAL LOCATION OF INDIVIDUAL CELLS AND GENE EXPRESSION PATTERNS WITHIN EACH CELL IS THE FRONTIER OF PLANT CELL BIOLOGY RESEARCH. CURRENTLY AVAILABLE SCRNA-SEQ PROTOCOLS DO NOT PRESERVE SPATIAL LOCATIONS OF EACH CELL, WHEREAS SPATIAL TRANSCRIPTOME APPROACHES USING PHYSICAL SLICES OF EMBEDDED TISSUES HAVE LIMITED RESOLUTION. THE GOAL OF THIS EAGER PROJECT IS TO ESTABLISH A NEW APPROACH FOR SPATIAL TRANSCRIPTOME ANALYSIS IN PLANTS. ONE MAJOR RESOURCE FROM THE PLANT RESEARCH COMMUNITY IS A LARGE NUMBER OF TRANSGENIC REPORTER GENE LINES (E.G. PROMOTER-GFP LINES) THAT HAVE BEEN ACCUMULATED FOR THE PAST SEVERAL DECADES. THIS PROJECT WILL LEVERAGE THIS LARGE REPORTER GENE RESOURCE TO PERFORM A PROOF OF PRINCIPLE STUDY USING THE SAME GFP MARKER LINES FOR BOTH IMAGING AND SCRNA-SEQ EXPERIMENTS. USING THE MERISTEMATIC REGION OF PLANT ROOTS AS OUR MODEL SYSTEM, SCRNA-SEQ DATA FOR SELECTED PROMOTER-GFP MARKER LINES WILL BE GENERATED AND MACHINE LEARNING MODELS WILL BE APPLIED TO ACCURATELY PREDICT GFP+ AND GFP- CELLS. FLUORESCENT IMAGING AND SEMATIC LABELING WILL BE USED TO MERGE AND MODEL 3D ROOT IMAGES AND GFP EXPRESSION. FINALLY, A MACHINE LEARNING METHOD WILL BE DEVELOPED TO MAP THE SCRNA-SEQ DATA TO THE 3D ROOT MODEL. RESULTS FROM THIS NEW APPROACH WILL BE COMPARED WITH EXISTING DATA AND WILL BE VALIDATED IN PLANTA. TOGETHER, THIS WORK WILL PROVIDE A POWERFUL NEW APPROACH TO DEVELOP 3D EXPRESSION MODELS FOR ANY PLANT SPECIES. RESULTS FROM THIS METHOD CAN BE USED TO ADDRESS QUESTIONS RELATED TO ASYMMETRICAL GENE EXPRESSION IN DEVELOPMENT AND STRESS RESPONSES IN ROOTS, AS WELL AS IN OTHER TISSUES OR ORGANS IN PLANTS. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE DIVISIONS OF MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR SCIENCES (CELLULAR DYNAMICS AND FUNCTION PROGRAM) TOGETHER WITH INTEGRATIVE ORGANISMAL SYSTEMS (PHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS AND BIOMECHANICS PROGRAM) , BOTH IN THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES DIRECTORATE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

ENHANCING PROTEIN QUALITY WHILE MAINTAINING PROTEIN AMOUNT WITH INSIGHTS GENERATED FROM SOYBEAN MUTANTS - (DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER) - THE OVER-ARCHING OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO UNDERSTAND THE CHANGES IN METABOLISM THAT LEAD TO ENHANCED SOYBEAN PROTEIN QUALITY, PARTICULARLY SULFUR-CONTAINING AMINO ACID BIOSYNTHETIC PATHWAYS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN AMINO ACID COMPOSITION OF SOYBEANS IN MULTIPLE GROWING REGIONS WITHIN DIFFERENT MATURITY ZONES.

APPLICATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY TO CONTROL THE SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE (SCN)

APPLICATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY TO CONTROL THE SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE (SCN)

PRODUCTION AND VALIDATION OF A UNIVERSAL PLANT VIRUS MICROARRAY

DIGGING DEEP: ADVANCED IMAGING TO UNCOVER THE GENETIC AND MECHANISTIC BASIS OF CLASSICAL ROOT MUTANTS IN MAIZE

THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGING OF ALFLAFA ROOTS FOR ENHANCING YIELD AND NUTRIENT ACQUISITION-CDFA NO. 10.330

NIFA FACT WORKSHOP: BIG DATA ANALYTICS IN PLANT BREEDING AND GENOMICS - A DIGITAL AGRICULTURE SYMPOSIUM

IMPROVING ACCESS TO BIOLOGY EDUCATION RESEARCH BY DECREASING BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION IN THE SOCIETY FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF BIOLOGY EDUCATION RESEARCH?S 2021 NATIONAL CONFERENCE

MULTIVARIATE AND EXPRESSION-BASED QUANTITATIVE GENETICS TO UNDERSTAND ELEMENT HOMEOSTASIS IN MAIZE

SATELLITE DATA AND MODELING WORKSHOP - USE OF REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES TO ADVANCE CROP PRODUCTIVITY

REWRITING THE COMPUTER CODE TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS AND EASE OF USE OF THE ROOTREADER3D SOFTWARE PLATFORM

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE GENOMIC EFFECTS OF SELECTION FOR HERBICIDE RESISTANCE IN GREEN FOXTAIL

ENGINEERING C3 PLANTS WITH CARBON CONCENTRATING MECHANISMS FOR ENHANCED PHOTOSYNTHESIS

A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN A RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND CITY LIBRARY SYSTEM TO ENGAGE MARGINALIZED IN STEM -BLACK RESIDENTS OF NORTH ST. LOUIS HAVE HISTORICALLY EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND EDUCATIONAL, AND ECONOMIC DISPARITIES, INCLUDING A LACK OF ACCESS TO DUE HIGH QUALITY STEM EDUCATION RESOURCES. A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN A SCIENCE RESEARCH CENTER AND CITY LIBRARIES WILL CO-DEVELOP A COMMUNITY-FOCUSED GAME, DESIGNED TO MEET THE INTERESTS AND NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY?S BLACK AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED ADULTS. THE PARTNERSHIP WILL USE SURVEYS, TOWN HALL MEETINGS, AND FEEDBACK FORMS TO SEEK INPUT FROM THE NORTH ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY. OVER A TWO-MONTH PERIOD, THE GAME WILL PROVIDE ZERO-RISK OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO PRACTICE THEIR PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS, WHILE CONNECTING WITH STEM DISCIPLINES THAT ARE STRENGTHS IN ST. LOUIS (E.G., BIOSCIENCE, GEOSPATIAL SCIENCE, AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING). THE PROJECT PARTNERS ARE THE DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER (DDPSC), A NON-PROFIT RESEARCH CENTER, AND THE ST. LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY (SLCL), A PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM. DDPSC WILL CONTRIBUTE ITS EXTENSIVE SCIENCE RESEARCH EXPERTISE AND EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH TO THE PROJECT. THROUGH TOWN HALL MEETINGS, THE PARTNERSHIP WILL IDENTIFY GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS WITH SIMILAR INTERESTS AND VALUES THAT CAN JOIN OR SUPPORT THE PARTNERSHIP AS IT LOOKS TO EXPAND THE GAME BEYOND ITS PILOT SEASON. THIS PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP WILL INTEGRATE THE REGION?S PRIMARY PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM WITH SCLS? INNOVATIVE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION OUTREACH CENTER. BY IDENTIFYING EFFECTIVE POLICIES, COMMUNITY OUTCOMES, AND BEST PRACTICES FOR DECISION-MAKING AND OPERATIONS, THE PARTNERSHIP WILL PROVIDE AN EVIDENCE-BASED FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS ESTABLISHED FOR INFORMAL STEM EDUCATION. BY COLLECTING INPUT AND FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY AND LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS, THE PROJECT WILL IDENTIFY INCENTIVES AND INTERESTS THAT MOST EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE THE NORTH ST. LOUIS BLACK COMMUNITY AND PROACTIVELY ADDRESS PHYSICAL, SOCIETAL, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS TO THEIR PARTICIPATION. PARTICIPATION DATA INDICATING WHO ENGAGED IN THE GAME AND WHICH ACTIVITIES THEY SELECTED WILL REVEAL IF PARTNERSHIP EFFORTS TO FOSTER A SENSE OF BELONGING BY SITUATING INFORMAL LEARNING IN A FAMILIAR PUBLIC SPACE, THE LIBRARY, WAS EFFECTIVE. IT WILL ALSO REVEAL WHICH ACTIVITIES ARE MOST ACCESSIBLE TO LIBRARY PATRONS WHO LIVE IN HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED NEIGHBORHOODS. THIS PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE ADVANCING INFORMAL STEM LEARNING (AISL) PROGRAM, WHICH SEEKS TO ADVANCE NEW APPROACHES TO, AND EVIDENCE-BASED UNDERSTANDING OF, THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF STEM LEARNING IN INFORMAL ENVIRONMENTS. THIS INCLUDES PROVIDING MULTIPLE PATHWAYS FOR BROADENING ACCESS TO AND ENGAGEMENT IN STEM LEARNING EXPERIENCES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

OPERATION OF HIGH THROUGHPUT ELEMENTAL PROFILING SYSTEM INCLUDING ICP-MS

**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE 11TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CELL-CELL SIGNALING IN PLANT DEVELOPMENT, PHYSIOLOGY, AND DISEASE (PD2024) IS A GATHERING OF PLANT BIOLOGISTS WHO STUDY PLASMODESMATA AND INTERCELLULAR TRAFFICKING IN PLANTS. IT IS HELD EVERY THREE OR SO YEARS BY THE BY THE COMMUNITY OF PLANT SCIENTISTS WHO STUDY THESE INTRIGUING PLANT STRUCTURES. THE MEETING WILL BE ORGANIZED INTO EIGHT (SESSIONS) EACH FOCUSED ON A PARTICULAR THEME. WE EXPECT THAT PD2024 WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE FIELD OF PLASMODESMATAL BIOLOGY AS THE COMMUNITY GATHERS TO DISCUSS NEW RESEARCH AND REVISIT OLDER ONES. IT WILL ALSO POSITIVELY IMPACT PLANT BIOLOGY RESEARCH IN OTHER FIELDS AS NEW RESEARCH ON HOW PLASMODESMATA IMPACT GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEFENSE IS SHARED, AND NEW HYPOTHESES ARE DEVELOPED AND SUBSEQUENTLY TESTED. WE EXPECT THAT THE PUBLICATIONS ARISING FROM THE MEETING, THE DIGITAL ABSTRACT BOOK, AND SPECIAL ISSUE OF THE JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY, WILL ALSO BE OF INTEREST TO THE WIDER COMMUNITY.AFRI FUNDS WILL BE USED PRIMARILY TO SUPPORT ATTENDANCE BY PARTICIPANTS WHO MIGHT OTHERWISE NOT BE ABLE TO ATTEND, WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS AND SCIENTISTS FROM UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES (EXPECTED IMPACT: SUBSIDIZED ATTENDANCE OF ~30 SCIENTISTS). ADDITIONAL FUNDS WILL SUPPORT FULL PARTICIPATION BY ATTENDEES WHO MIGHT OTHERWISE BE EXCLUDED, E.G., BY PROVIDING ASL INTERPRETERS OR CART CAPTIONING SERVICES TO ENSURE THAT HARD-OF-HEARING AND DEAF SCIENTISTS CAN FULLY ENGAGE WITH THE MEETING. SEVERAL AGRICULTURAL STAKEHOLDERS AND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCHERS, INCLUDING PROJECT DIRECTORS CURRENTLY OR RECENTLY FUNDED BY AFRI'S PHYSIOLOGY OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS (A1152) PROGRAM AREA HAVE BEEN INVITED TO AND/OR HAVE ALREADY CONFIRMED THAT THEY WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING.

CONFERENCE: 11TH INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON INTERCELLULAR COMMUNICATION IN PLANTS -THE 11TH INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON INTERCELLULAR COMMUNICATION IN PLANTS (DUBBED PD2024) WILL BRING TOGETHER SCIENTISTS FROM THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY WHO STUDY PLASMODESMATA AND INTERCELLULAR TRAFFICKING. THE MEETING IS SCHEDULED TO BE HELD FROM SEPTEMBER 17TH TO 20TH, 2024 IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI AT THE DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER. THE FUNDS FROM THIS AWARD WILL BE USED TO SUPPORT THE PARTICIPATION OF EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS AND PERSONS NOT TRADITIONALLY REPRESENTED IN SCIENCE IN THE MEETING. THIS MEETING WILL FOCUS ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS RELATED TO INTERCELLULAR COMMUNICATION IN PLANTS AND PLASMODESMATA, WITH A FOCUS ON: 1)SHARING OF RESEARCH DISCOVERIES AND PROGRESS, AND (2)FOSTER COLLABORATION AND ENCOURAGE INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES THAT WILL ALLOW RAPID FUTURE PROGRESS IN PLASMODESMATA BIOLOGY. THE MEETING IS ORGANIZED INTO SEVEN SCIENTIFIC SESSIONS ARRANGED AROUND TOPICS INCLUDING INTERCELLULAR TRAFFICKING IN DEVELOPMENT, STRUCTURE AND MEMBRANES OF PLASMODESMATA, BIOPHYSICS AND MODELING OF PLASMODESMATA AND INTERCELLULAR TRAFFICKING IN PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS AMONG OTHERS. THE MEETING WILL INCLUDE KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS FROM EXPERTS IN THE FIELD OF INTERCELLULAR TRAFFICKING AND FROM PLANT MECHANOSENSING AND PLANT EVOLUTION AND DIVERSITY. PD2024 WILL ESPECIALLY FOCUS ON EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS WITH PRESENTATIONS IN EACH SESSION, A SPECIAL SESSION OF ?LIGHTNING TALKS? TO ALLOW MANY EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS TO SHARE THE ?MAIN STAGE?, AND POSTER SESSIONS TO DISSEMINATE THEIR WORK MORE DIRECTLY WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS. THE PD2024 CONFERENCE IS COMMITTED TO BROADENING PARTICIPATION AND WILL INCLUDE PERSONS FROM GROUPS TRADITIONALLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN SCIENCE. THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ITSELF COMPRISES A DIVERSITY OF SCIENTISTS INCLUDING WOMEN, PERSONS FROM MINORITY GROUPS AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. THE PROVISION OF TRAVEL SUPPORT FROM THIS AWARD TO MEMBERS OF UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS AND EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS WILL ALLOWS THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS CONFERENCE. PD2024 WILL: (1) PROVIDE A SAFE AND SUPPORTIVE VENUE WHERE EARLY CAREER SCIENTIST CAN SHARE THEIR RESEARCH AND IDEAS, AND (2) OFFER STRUCTURED ACTIVITIES THAT FOSTER NETWORK BUILDING. FUNDS FROM THIS AWARD WILL ALSO BE USED TO PROVIDE ACCOMMODATIONS TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM THE DEAF/HARD-OF-HEARING COMMUNITY. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

RICE IS A STAPLE FOOD CROP THAT FEEDS MORE THAN HALF THE WORLD. IT IS ALSO A MODEL SPECIES FOR CEREALS. THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT MOLECULAR AND GENETIC RESOURCES FOR RICE WHICH ENABLE A MULTITUDE OF STUDIES. AS RESOURCES BECOME MORE LIMITED, US FOOD SECURITY AND SAFETY RELY INCREASINGLY ON ROBUST, SCIENCE-BASED APPROACHES THAT INCREASE AGRICULTURAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE SUSTAINABILITY; THESE CHALLENGES WILL REQUIRE LOCAL AND GLOBAL SOLUTIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS. THE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON RICE FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS (ISRFG) IS THE ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR SCIENTISTS WORKING ON RICE FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS. THE ISRFG CONVENES PARTICIPANTS WITH A STRONG COMMITMENT TO RESEARCH AND APPLICATION IN RICE FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS INCLUDING CUTTING-EDGE APPROACHES FOR RICE CROP IMPROVEMENT.THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO OBTAIN FUNDING SUPPORT PRIMARILY FOR EARLY CAREER US SCIENTISTS- STUDENTS, POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS, AND PRE-TENURE INVESTIGATORS- TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 20TH ISRFG. THE REQUESTED SUPPORT WILL PROMOTE ADVANCES IN RICE RESEARCH MADE IN THE US RESEARCH COMMUNITY, PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US SCIENTISTS TO LEARN ABOUT THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN STRUCTURAL, FUNCTIONAL AND EVOLUTIONARY GENOMICS AND GENETICS RESEARCH, AND FACILITATE INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS IN RICE RESEARCH,

FINDING AND MENDING THE KNOWLEDGE GAPS BETWEEN PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND PLANT FUNCTIONAL GENETICS/GENOMICS.

ENGINEERING C4 PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN MAIZE TO ENHANCE NITROGEN UTILIZATION

GENOMICS AND PHENOMICS TO IDENTIFY YIELD AND DROUGHT TOLERANCE ALLELES FOR IMPROVEMENT OF CAMELINA AS A BIOFUEL CROP

REGULATING EXPRESSION OF CELL AND TISSUE-SPECIFIC GENES BY MODIFYING TRANSCRIPTION

DISSECTING THE JASMONATE SIGNALING NETWORK IN SETARIA VIRIDIS

DISCOVERY AND CHARACTERIZATION OF GENES AND NETWORKS CONTROLLING SOYBEAN SEED TRAITS

QUANTITATIVE GENETICS OF CHLAMYDOMONAS REINHARDTII FOR GENE IDENTIFICATION AND BREEDING OF DESIRABLE TRAITS FOR BIOFUEL PRODUCTION

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PSEUDOMONAS GENUS OF BACTERIA FOR PLANT-PARASITIC NEMATODE CONTROL