PLANT PARASITIC NEMATODE INFECTIONS ARE ESTIMATED TO CAUSE MORE THAN $173 BILLION IN CROP LOSSES ANNUALLY. IN SOYBEAN, SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE (SCN) IS A HIGHLY DESTRUCTIVE PATHOGEN. GROWING PLANT VARIETIES THAT ARE RESISTANT TO NEMATODES IS OFTEN THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE CONTROL STRATEGY FOR SCN. HOWEVER, SCN POPULATIONS CAN TO ADAPT TO GROW ON RESISTANT VARIETIES WHEN VARIETIES WITH THE SAME TYPE OF RESISTANCE ARE GROWN YEAR AFTER YEAR. THEREFORE, NEW PARADIGMS ARE NEEDED FOR SCN CONTROL THAT WILL COMBAT THE ABILITY OF DIVERSE NEMATODE POPULATIONS TO RAPIDLY ADAPT TO HOST-PLANT RESISTANCE. OUR LONG TERM, "NEMATODE-CENTRIC", SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM IS THE DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OF HOMING GENE DRIVES THAT CAN ACT AS "GENETIC NEMATICIDES". HOMING GENE DRIVES ARE BEING DEVELOPED FOR CONTROL OF HUMAN DISEASES AND INVASIVE AGRICULTURAL PESTS BECAUSE OF THEIR POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE LOW-COST AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT. TO DEVELOP GENE DRIVES FOR NEMATODE CONTROL, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO EDIT, EXPRESS, AND SILENCE NEMATODE GENES ACROSS GENERATIONS. IN THIS PROPOSAL, WE SHOW PRELIMINARY DATA DESCRIBING THE DEVELOPMENT OF TWO KEY TECHNOLOGIES FOR SCN, RECOMBINANT VIRAL VECTORS AND A PLASMID-BASED GENE EXPRESSION SYSTEM. THESE GENETIC APPROACHES HAVE NEVER BEEN SUCCESSFULLY UTILIZED IN PLANT PARASITIC NEMATODES, UNTIL NOW. WE PROPOSE TO OPTIMIZE THESE APPROACHES TO WORK TOWARDS OUR LONG-TERM GOAL OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HOMING GENE DRIVES FOR SUSTAINABLE NEMATODE CONTROL.