ALLELOPATHY IS AN EVOLUTIONARILY SELECTED MECHANISM BY WHICH PLANTS ADVANTAGEOUSLY ALTER THEIR IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT BY PRODUCING AND RELEASING COMPOUNDS (I.E., ALLELOCHEMICALS) THAT NEGATIVELY AFFECT THE GROWTH OF SURROUNDING PLANTS. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS OF THIS PROJECT IS THAT SOME ALLELOCHEMICALS ALTER PLANT GROWTH BY TARGETING THE ACTION OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS IN AFFECTED PLANTS. THE MAIN OBJECTIVEOF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO GATHER KNOWLEDGE AND RESOURCES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ALLELOCHEMICAL-BASED APPROACH TO WEED CONTROL AND IS CENTERED AROUND A DISCOVERY I RECENTLY MADE LINKING PLANT HORMONE SIGNALING NETWORKS AND THE ALLELOPATHIC CAPACITY OF THE NEUROTRANSMITTER DOPAMINE, A COMPOUND WIDELY PRODUCED IN THE PLANT KINGDOM. THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THIS PROJECT, I WILL USE MODERN GENETIC SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGIES IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY AND CHARACTERIZE GENES THAT MAKEPLANTS RESISTANT TO THE DETRIMENTAL GROWTH EFFECTS OF DOPAMINE.THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO COMBINE THE WEED-SUPPRESSIVE EFFECTS OF DOPAMINE WITH GENETICALLY INSTANTIATED DOPAMINE RESISTANCE INTO A TECHNOLOGY WHICH DRASTICALLY DECREASES THE NEED FOR BROAD-SPECTRUM HERBICIDE APPLICATION IN CROPPING SYSTEMS.