HUMANKIND IS DEPENDENT UPON MODERN CROP CULTIVARS THAT WERE DEVELOPED FROM WILD SPECIES OF PLANTS. OVER THE LAST CENTURY, PLANT BREEDING HAS LED TO REMARKABLE IMPROVEMENTS IN CROP PRODUCTIVITY, BUT THIS HAS COME AT THE COST OF REDUCING THE VERY THING - GENETIC DIVERSITY - FROM WHICH IMPROVEMENT IS MADE. AS PRESSURES ON CROP PRODUCTION CONTINUE TO MOUNT FROM DRAMATIC CHANGES IN CLIMATE, SCIENTIFIC INNOVATIONS IN PLANT BREEDING ARE CRUCIAL TO CREATING THE NEXT-GENERATION OF CULTIVARS THAT WILL SUSTAIN THE NEEDS OF SOCIETY. THE FOREMOST BARRIER TO CAPITALIZING ON A BROADER ARRAY OF DIVERSITY IS THAT POTENTIALLY VALUABLE POPULATIONS TEND TO BE POORLY ADAPTED TO THE MAJOR PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENTS FOR A GIVEN CROP. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT ADDRESSES FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS IN GENETICS AND LEVERAGES THIS KNOWLEDGE TO TEST A NEW STRATEGY FOR RAPIDLY ADAPTING CROPS (USING CORN AS A MODEL SYSTEM) TO NEW ENVIRONMENTS. THIS COULD PAVE THE WAY FOR BREEDING MORE RESILIENT AND PRODUCTIVE CROP CULTIVARS THAT ENABLE A SUSTAINABLE INTENSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURE.