NEW INFORMATION IS NEEDED TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE LONG-DISTANCE TRANSPORT OF WIND-DISPERSED POLLEN FROM GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED (GE) CROPS. HAVING A VALIDATED AND RELIABLE LONG-DISTANCE TRANSPORT PREDICTION MODEL FOR WIND-DISPERSED POLLEN IS CRITICAL TO ESTABLISHING APPROPRIATE ISOLATION DISTANCES FOR GE CROPS AND MAKING INFORMED REGULATORY DECISIONS. REGULATORS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SUCH AS THE EPA AND THE USDA APHIS BRS, WILL NEED NEW TOOLS TO COLLECT NEW DATA AND GAUGE FACTORS SUCH AS GENE FLOW, ESPECIALLY IN EMERGING CROPS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH FOCUSES ON RELEVANT CROPS (SWITCHGRASS AND HEMP) TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS. OUR PROJECT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSES THE 'METHODS TO MONITOR AND UNDERSTAND THE DISPERSAL OF GE ORGANISMS' AND INCLUDES 'RESEARCH DESIGNED TO DEVELOP METHODS TO MONITOR AND UNDERSTAND THE DISPERSAL AND/OR POPULATION DYNAMICS OF GE ORGANISMS', THE BASIS OF A REQUIRED TOPIC FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY RISK ASSESSMENT, PROGRAM HX.SWITCHGRASS IS A PERENNIAL, WARM-SEASON C4 BUNCHGRASS FOUND ACROSS MOST OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA--FROM NORTHERN MEXICO TO SOUTHERN CANADA. ORIGINALLY ADOPTED AS A FORAGE CROP, IT IS A LEADING CANDIDATE WIDE-SCALE LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOFUEL FEEDSTOCK IN THE U.S. AND ABROAD. HEMP WAS DOMESTICATED IN ASIA AND NOW HAS A COSMOPOLITAN DISTRIBUTION. IN THE PAST 5 YEARS SINCE THE FARM BILL LEGITIMIZED EXPERIMENTAL HEMP CULTIVATION IN THE U.S., DRAMATIC INTEREST IN THE CROP HAS EMERGED.MUCH OF THE INTEREST IN INCREASED CULTIVATION ARISES FROM THE EMERGING MARKET OF NON-THC CANNABINOIDS SUCH AS CANNABIDIOL (CBD) WITH POTENTIAL PHARMACEUTICAL AND THERAPEUTICAL USES. LIKE SWITCHGRASS, HEMP IS PRIMARILY WIND-POLLINATED AND IS AN OBLIGATE OUTCROSSER.INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO BRIDGE AEROBIOLOGY, PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, AND ATMOSPHERIC FLUID MECHANICS TO STUDY THE DISPERSAL OF WIND-DISPERSED POLLEN FROM GE CROPS. OUR OVERALL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT (1) WIND-DISPERSED POLLEN FROM GE SWITCHGRASS AND HEMP WILL BE TRANSPORTED LONG DISTANCES DOWNWIND FROM LARGE AREA SOURCES AND (2) A LARGE EDDY SIMULATION (LES) MODEL CAN BE USED TO ACCURATELY PREDICT THE TRANSPORT OF GE POLLEN OVER LONG DISTANCES. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF OUR PROPOSED RESEARCH ARE TO (1) DEVELOP AND TEST NEW METHODS WITH UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS (UASS OR DRONES) FOR MONITORING WIND-DISPERSED POLLEN FROM GE CROPS, (2) GENERATE AND VALIDATE AN LES MODEL TO TRACK THE LONG-DISTANCE TRANSPORT OF GE POLLEN, AND (3) PREDICT THE REGIONAL TRANSPORT OF WIND-DISPERSED POLLEN USING THE LES MODEL. GE SWITCHGRASS AND HEMP, IN WHICH POLLEN IS MARKED WITH GENETICALLY-ENCODED FLUORESCENT PROTEINS (FPS), WILL BE GROWN AT A UNIQUE FIELD SITE IN TN. TEAMS OF UASS EQUIPPED WITH WIND SENSORS, OPTICAL PARTICLE COUNTERS, AND IMPINGING DEVICES WILL BE USED TO COLLECT GE POLLEN HUNDREDS OF METERS ABOVE AND DOWNWIND OF SOURCE FIELDS. GE POLLEN WILL BE QUANTIFIED IN ATMOSPHERIC SAMPLES USING A FLOW CYTOMETER SPECTRALLY TUNED TO FP FLUORESCENCE. MEASUREMENTS TAKEN WITH UASS AND GROUND-BASED SENSORS WILL BE USED TO DRIVE LOCAL HIGH-RESOLUTION ATMOSPHERIC SIMULATIONS USING AN LES MODEL. OUR WORK WILL PROVIDE NEW DATA ON THE LIMITS OF TRANSPORT OF WIND-DISPERSED POLLEN FROM GE CROPS-IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE THROUGH SMALL-SCALE LABORATORY TESTS. MOREOVER, IT WILL HELP IDENTIFY APPROPRIATE ISOLATION DISTANCES NEEDED TO ASSIST IN REGULATORY DECISIONS IN COMPLICATED 3-DIMENSIONAL LANDSCAPES.