PEANUT IS A NUTRITIOUS LEGUME, WIDELY GROWN IN COUNTRIES OF TROPICAL AND SUB-TROPICAL CLIMATE. THE U.S. IS THE FOURTH LARGEST PRODUCER, AND OVER 85% OF THE PRODUCTION IS USED IN EDIBLE PRODUCTS, SUCH AS ROASTED PEANUTS, PEANUT BUTTER AND PEANUT CANDY; THE REMAINDER IS CRUSHED TO EXTRACT OIL. ON AVERAGE, EACH AMERICAN CONSUMES MORE THAN 6 POUNDS OF PEANUT PRODUCTS EACH YEAR, WORTH MORE THAN $2 BILLION AT THE RETAIL LEVEL. THE PEANUT CROP IN THE U.S., HOWEVER, IS PLAGUED BY PESTS, SUCH AS LEAF DISEASES CAUSED BY FUNGI AND ROOT DISEASES CAUSED BY WORMS. THESE PESTS DECREASE OR IMPEDE PRODUCTIVITY, AND, BECAUSE NO NATURAL RESISTANCES ARE FOUND IN PEANUT, CROPS NEED MANY CHEMICAL APPLICATIONS EACH SEASON. THIS MAKES PEANUT PRODUCTION COSTLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY UNFRIENDLY. NEW WAYS TO MAKE PEANUT RESISTANT ARE NEEDED, SO COSTS ARE REDUCED, AND LESS HARMFUL AGROCHEMICALS ARE USED.IN THIS PROJECT, WE WILL MAKE USE OF PEANUT WILD RELATIVES, WHICH ARE PLANTS THAT OCCUR NATURALLY IN SOUTH AMERICA. IN THE 60'S, 70'S AND 80'S, HUNDREDS OF POPULATIONS WERE COLLECTED FROM THE WILD AND DEPOSITED IN THE USDA SEED BANK. SEVERAL STUDIES SHOW THAT THESE SPECIES CARRY RESISTANCE TO PESTS AND DISEASES THAT AFFECT THE PEANUT CROP. HOWEVER, BECAUSE THEIR GENETIC CHARACTERISTICS MAKE THEM DIFFICULT TO CROSS WITH PEANUT, THEY HAVE MOSTLY NOT BEEN USED FOR AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT. SO, THEY ARE AN INVALUABLE ALMOST UNTAPPED SOURCE OF RESISTANCE TO THE PEANUT CROP AND, THEREFORE, REVENUE TO THE PEANUT INDUSTRY. HERE WE ARE DOING SYSTEMATIC ANALYSES OF THESE SPECIES, SELECTING THE ONES WITH THE MOST VALUABLE TRAITS (DISEASE/PEST RESISTANCES), MAKING THEM COMPATIBLE WITH PEANUT, CROSSING THEM WITH HIGH PRODUCING, BUT SUSCEPTIBLE ELITE LINES AND MAKING SUCCESSIVE SELECTIONS. THE GOAL IS TO COMBINE THE GOOD AGRONOMICAL TRAITS OF THE ELITE PEANUT LINES WITH THE HIGH RESISTANCE OF THE WILD SPECIES. THIS PROCESS WILL BE AIDED BY DNA-BASED MARKERS, WHICH MAKES PLANT SELECTION MORE EFFICIENT. THE USE OF WILD SPECIES HAS BEEN A GAME CHANGER FOR OTHER CROP SPECIES, AND WE EXPECT THE SAME FOR PEANUT.