ANTIFUNGAL TREATMENTS ARE USED TO TREAT BOTH PLANTS AND PEOPLE WITH FUNGAL DISEASES, BUT FUNGAL RESISTANCE TO THESE TREATMENTS IS DEVELOPING IN BOTH THE CLINICAL AND AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS. APPROXIMATELY 200,000 LIFE-THREATENING CASES OF ASPERGILLOSIS IN PEOPLE, WHO ARE USUALLY IMMUNOCOMPROMISED, OCCUR ANNUALLY AND WITHOUT TREATMENT, OR WHEN THE FUNGUS IS RESISTANT, MORTALITY APPROACHES 100%. THE CAUSAL FUNGUS, ASPERGILLUS FUMIGATUS, IS UBIQUITOUS IN THE ENVIRONMENT, AND ABUNDANT IN SOIL, COMPOST AND OTHER ORGANIC DEBRIS. STUDIES OUTSIDE THE U.S. HAVE LINKED CLINICAL RESISTANCE TO INCREASED AGRICULTURAL USE OF AZOLE FUNGICIDES TO COMBAT PLANT PATHOGENS. RECENT RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT ANTIFUNGAL RESISTANT A. FUMIGATUS IS PRESENT IN AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS IN THE U.S. WHERE AZOLE FUNGICIDES ARE USED. THERE IS A CLEAR NEED FOR MONITORING OF AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS IN THE U.S. FOR ANTIFUNGAL-RESISTANT A. FUMIGATUS. WE AIM TO IMPROVE MOLECULAR DETECTION METHODS AND IDENTIFY AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS WITH INCREASED RATES OF AZOLE RESISTANCE TO ASSIST IN FORMULATING STRATEGIES TO SLOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF AZOLE RESISTANCE, AND TO IDENTIFY IF AZOLE-RESISTANT STRAINS ARE IN FOOD ITEMS PRODUCED WHERE RESISTANCE IS PREVALENT. ADDITIONALLY, WE PLAN TO DETERMINE IF POPULATIONS OF RESISTANT A. FUMIGATUS IN AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS DECLINE OR REMAIN STABLE IN THE ABSENCE OF AZOLE FUNGICIDE APPLICATIONS. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AZOLE RESISTANCE OF A. FUMIGATUS IN AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS SO THAT EFFICIENT AND TARGETED STRATEGIES AIMED AT MITIGATING ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE CAN BE DEVELOPED, AND AZOLES CAN BE PRESERVED FOR USE IN TREATING HUMAN, ANIMAL AND PLANT DISEASES CAUSED BY FUNGI.