RALSTONIA SOLANACEARUM (RS) CAUSES BACTERIAL WILT DISEASES (BW). THIS PATHOGEN INDISCRIMINATELY STIFLES CROP YIELDS FOR SUBSISTENCE AND COMMERCIAL FARMERS. UNDER THE RIGHT CONDITIONS BW LOSSES CAN BE ABOVE 90%. THE PATHOGEN'S WIDE HOST RANGE, LONG ENVIRONMENTAL SURVIVAL, AND BROAD GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION MAKE IT ESPECIALLY DESTRUCTIVE. RS ATTACKS MANY ECONOMICALLY RELEVANT CROPS INCLUDING POTATO, BANANA, TOBACCO, PEANUT, GINGER, CLOVES, AND TOMATO. BW IS BEST MANAGED BY PLANTING RESISTANT CULTIVARS. HOWEVER, THERE IS NO KNOWN GENE-FOR-GENE WILT RESISTANCE IN TOMATO, AND NEARLY ALL BW-RESISTANT TOMATOES WERE DERIVED FROM A SINGLE POORLY-DEFINED BREEDING LINE CALLED HAWAII7996 (H7996). H7996 RESISTANCE IS MEDIATED BY SEVERAL QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI (QTL), WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO INTROGRESS THIS RESISTANCE INTO DESIRABLE COMMERCIAL CULTIVARS. UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISTIC BASIS OF THIS RESISTANCE WOULD IMPROVE WILT DISEASE MANAGEMENT. FURTHER, THE RESISTANCE IN H7996 IS OVERCOMEBY RS STRAIN UW551, ONE OF THE R3B2 SUB-GROUP OF RS STRAINS. WE USE A MODEL SYSTEM IN TOMATO CROP TO INVESTIGATE THE MECHANISM OF RESISTANCE TO RALSTONIA SOLANACEARUM (RS) THE CAUSAL AGENT OF BACTERIAL WILT DISEASE. AS A POTENTIAL BIOTERRORISM THREAT, R3B2 STRAINS ARE HIGHLY REGULATED U.S. SELECT AGENTS. THUS, UNDERSTANDING HOW R3B2 OVERCOMES OUR BEST FORM OF RESISTANCE ADDS TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS RESEARCH.WE ARE FOCUSED ON BETTER UNDERSTANDING THIS IMPORTANT SOURCE OF WILT RESISTANCE THROUGH ASYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATION OF BOTH THE PLANT AND PATHOGEN SIDE OF RESISTANT AND SUSCEPTIBLE INTERACTIONS. THIS WILL HELP FUTURE PLANT BREEDERS BREED MORE RESISTANT PLANTS AND PROLONG THE DURABILITY OF THIS VALUABLE CONTROL METHOD IN AN ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT CROP. EFFECTIVE CROP RESISTANCE DEPLOYMENT BENEFITS GROWERS, CONSUMERS, AND FUTURE AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY.