ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSES DEPRESS THE YIELDS OF MAJOR US CROPS BY AS MUCH AS 70%. DROUGHT IS ONE OF THE MOST SEVERE CLIMATE-RELATED RISKS FOR RICE PRODUCTION AND A FURTHER INCREASE IN RICE PRODUCTION MUST COME FROM HIGHLY VULNERABLE, LESS PRODUCTIVE DROUGHT-PRONE RAINFED LOWLAND AND UPLAND RICE AREAS. EVEN THOUGH RICE IS A PADDY CROP, IT IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO DROUGHT STRESS AND MANY IRRIGATED PADDY LANDS ARE NOW FREQUENTED BY TERMINAL DROUGHT. LIKEWISE, SOYBEAN PRODUCTION IS THREATENED BY DROUGHT, WHICH SEVERITY IS EVER MOUNTING DUE TO GLOBAL WARMING.CROPS SENSE AND RESPOND TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSES SUCH AS DROUGHT USING THEIR DELICATE CIRCUITS THAT ARE MORE COMPLICATED THAN THOSE USED IN CELL PHONES, AIRPLANES AND SATELLITES. A CIRCUIT IN PLANT CELLS CONSISTS MOLECULAR SWITCHES THAT ARE TURNED ON OR OFF BY A SET OF PROTEINS CALLED TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS, WHICH ARE ANALOGOUS TO FINGERS OPERATING SWITCHES. ANOTHER SET OF PROTEINS, ANALOGOUS TO A CHAIN OF COMMANDERS, INSTRUCT WHETHER A "FINGER"SHOULD TURN ON OR OFF A "SWITCH" UNDER SPECIFIC PHYSIOLOGICAL/DEVELOPMENTAL CONDITIONS. IN THE PREVIOUS PROJECT FUNDED BY NIFA USDA, WE DEMONSTRATED THAT A FAMILY OF THE MOLECULAR FINGERS, CALLED WRKY TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS ARE MAJOR PLAYERS IN CROPS' RESPONSES TO DROUGHT. IN 2008, WE SUGGESTED THAT SUCH MOLECULAR FINGERS "MAY PRESENT SOME OF THE BEST OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCREASING DROUGHT TOLERANCE." OUR PREVIOUS PROJECT AND OTHERS AROUND THE WORLD HAVE NOW ESTABLISHED THAT WRKY TFS ARE INDEED MAJOR PLAYERS IN DROUGHT RESPONSES. THERE IS NOW A PRESSING NEED TO PROGRESS WITH THESE GENES TOWARDS USING THEM TO IMPROVE DROUGHT TOLERANCE IN US CROP PLANTS. THAT IS THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT.TO DO THIS, WE HAVE CHOSEN FOUR WRKY TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS (MOLECULAR FINGERS) FROM RICE AND SOYBEAN WHICH OUR DATA SUGGEST PLAY IMPORTANT ROLES IN REGULATING DROUGHT RESPONSES. WE WILL USE STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNIQUES INCLUDING CHIP-SEQ, GENOME EDITING, PROTEIN-PROTEIN INTERACTION TECHNIQUES, PROMOTER ANALYSES, AND OVEREXPRESSION. THESE TECHNIQUES WILL ALLOW US TO DISSECT THE CIRCUITS AND PINPOINT THE KEY NODES IN THE CIRCUITS THAT INVOLVE THE MOLECULAR SWITCHES AND FINGERS IN CROPS' RESPONSES TO DROUGHT. OUR RESEARCH QUESTIONS/OBJECTIVES ARE: CAN WE IDENTIFY INTERACTING PROTEIN PARTNERS OF THE FINGER PROTEINS? CAN WE DETERMINE TARGETS OF THE FINGER PROTEINS? CAN WE USE THE FINGER PROTEINS TO OBTAIN IMPROVED DROUGHT PHENOTYPES? CAN WE USE THE FINGER PROTEINS TO OBTAIN AN INCREASE IN SOYBEAN AND RICE?US AGRICULTURE HAS A NEED TO IDENTIFY KEY MOLECULAR SWITCHES AND FINGERS THAT MIGHT BE USED FOR IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS RESPONSES IN CROP PLANTS. THIS PROJECT WILL FURTHER CHARACTERIZE SUCH TARGETS AND AT THE SAME TIME WILL FACILITATE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS RESPONSES BASED ON A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF THE FINGER PROTEINS OUTLINED IN THIS PROPOSAL. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE PHYSIOLOGY OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS PROGRAM AREA PRIORITY, "MECHANISMS OF PLANT RESPONSE TO ABIOTIC STRESSES."