THE WORLD NEEDS TO PRODUCE MORE FOOD WITH FEWER RESOURCES IN THE COMING DECADES. PART OF SOLVING THIS PUZZLE RELATES TO UNDERSTANDING AND CONTROLLING PLANT PATHOGENS. PLANT PATHOGENS INCLUDE BACTERIA, NEMATODES, FUNGI AND VIRUSES THAT INFECT PLANTS AND ANNUALLY THREATEN FOOD SECURITY AND IMPOSE ECONOMIC LOSSES BOTH DOMESTICALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY. AGRICULTURAL SCIENTISTS MUST CONTINUE TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES TO ADDRESS THE CURRENT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES POSED BY PLANT PATHOGENS. OUR PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THESE ISSUES BY DEVELOPING NEW METHODS AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS TO UNDERSTAND HOW FUNGI CAUSE DISEASE. FUNGAL PLANT PATHOGENS MUST GROW DIFFERENTLY AND USE SPECIAL 'TOOLS' TO INFECT PLANTS AND OVERCOME THE PLANT IMMUNE SYSTEM. WE KNOW THAT FUNGI AND OTHER PLANT PATHOGENS HAVE THESE 'TOOLS', BUT WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW THEY USE THE INFORMATION IN THEIR DNA TO REGULATE WHEN AND HOW TO USE THEM DURING INFECTION. ONE LIMITATION IS THAT IT IS CURRENTLY DIFFICULT TO GATHER DATA FROM FUNGI AND OTHER PLANT PATHOGENS WHEN THEY ARE INFECTING THE PLANT. TO OVERCOME THIS, OUR PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP A NEW METHOD TO ISOLATE FUNGI FROM INFECTED PLANTS, ENABLING BETTER DATA COLLECTION AND EXPANDING THE TYPES OF DATA THAT CAN BE COLLECTED. THIS WILL IMPACT OTHER AREAS OF PLANT PATHOLOGY AND CAN PROVIDE A GENERAL APPROACH TO HELP OTHER RESEARCHERS ADDRESS SIMILAR QUESTIONS. WE ARE ALSO ADDRESSING HOW PARTICULAR PIECES OF DNA, ONCE THOUGHT TO BE 'JUNK' PARTS OF THE GENOME, MAY BE PLAYING ANACTIVE ROLE IN REGULATING FUNGAL INFECTION. UNDERSTANDING HOW THESE TYPES OF DNA IMPACT FUNGAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT CAN INFORM MANY TYPES OF SCIENTISTS WORKING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE INFORMATION IN OUR DNA IS USED. LASTLY, THE PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP NEW APPROACHES TO DIRECTLY MANIPULATE THE INFORMATION IN FUNGAL DNA, ALLOWING RESEARCHERS TO MORE DIRECTLY TEST THE CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INFORMATION IN THE DNA AND THE PROCESS OF FUNGI INFECTING PLANTS. THIS PROJECT WILL TRAIN STUDENTS IN THE AREAS OF PLANT BIOLOGY, MYCOLOGY, PLANT PATHOLOGY, BIOINFORMATICS AND MOLECULAR GENETICS TO CONTINUE DEVELOPING THE NEEDED WORK-FORCE TO MEET SOCIETAL CHALLENGES RELATED TO FOOD PRODUCTION AND PLANT HEALTH. KNOWLEDGE FROM THE PROJECT WILL IMPACT THE GENERAL PUBLIC THROUGH OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATION EFFORTS, AND THROUGH DEVELOPING NEW APPROACHES TO SOLVE CURRENT AND FUTURE AGRICULTURAL CHALLENGES.