CLAVICEPS(ERGOT)HAS BEEN UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR CENTURIES INFIELDS RANGING FROM PHARMACEUTICALS, PLANT PATHOLOGY, TO FUNGAL EVOLUTION. PROVIDED ITS EXTENSIVERESEARCH HISTORY EFFECTIVE LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT CONTINUES TO PROVE EXTREMELY CHALLENGING.RESEARCH ATTEMPTS TO IDENTIFY PLANTS THAT ARE RESISTANT TO ERGOTHAVE BEEN LARGELY UNSUCCESSFUL, AND THIS IS LIKELY IN PART DUE TO THE EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PATHOGEN AND THE HOST. IN ADDITION, THE USE OF FUNGICIDES TO CONTROL THIS PATHOGEN IN THE FIELD IS NOT ECONOMICALLY PRACTICAL AS FUNGICIDES HAVE LIMITED EFFECT ONERGOT AND IT IS DIFFICULT FOR THE FUNGICIDE TO REACH THE FUNGUS DUE TO HOW THE FUNGUS INFECTS THE PLANT. SINCE FUNGICIDES AND PLANT BREEDING FOR RESISTANCE ARE NOT PRACTICAL, RESEARCH NEEDS TO BE DONE TO IDENTIFY WHAT WILL BE THE MOST CRITICAL STRATEGY TO CONTROL DISEASE OUTBREAKS BY BETTER UNDERSTANDING THE LIFE STRATEGY OF THE DISEASE.THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS WORK IS TWO-FOLD. FIRST, IT WILL DEMONSTRATE THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OFNATIVE AND INVASIVE GRASSES IN MAINTAINING ERGOT POPULATIONSIN AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEMS, THEREBYADDING ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANCE TO THE IMPACT OF INVASIVE WEEDS ON OUR AGRICULTURE ECONOMY ANDFOOD SAFETY. SECOND, IT WILL PROVIDE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE IDENTITY AND LIFESTYLES OFERGOT AND INSIGHT INTO THE PRIMARY EVOLUTIONARY FORCES DRIVING THE SPECIATION OF THEAGRICULTURALLY IMPORTANT ERGOT FUNGI.TO IDENTIFY THE CRITICAL CONTROL STRATEGY, WE FIRST NEED TO IDENTIFY THE EXACT LIFE STRATEGY OF ERGOT. WE WILL DO THIS BY DETERMINING THE EXACT EFFECT ERGOT HAS ON ITS HOST PLANT THROUGH GREENHOUSE TRIALS. USING THIS AND FIELD SURVEY DATA FROM PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK AND FUTURE WORK WE CAN GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THIS PATHOGEN INTERACTS WITH ITS HOST AND ENVIRONMENT. TO DIVE DEEPER, WE WILL LOOK AT THE WHOLE GENOMES OF ERGOT AND COMPARE AND CONTRAST DIFFERENT ERGOT SPECIES (SOME WITH VERY LARGE HOST RANGES [400+ PLANT SPECIES] VERSUS SOME WITH VERY NARROW HOST RANGES [1-10 PLANT SPECIES]) TO UNDERSTAND HOW AND WHY ERGOT EVOLVED AS IT DID TO BECOME A GLOBAL PATHOGEN THAT STILL EVADE OUR BEST AGRICULTURAL DEFENSES (FUNGICIDES AND CROP RESISTANCE). IN THE END, WE HOPE TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PATHOGEN AND A MORE ECONOMICALLY FRIENDLY TARGETED APPROACH TO BETTER CONTROL DISEASE OUTBREAKS.