REAL, SUBSTANTIAL BARRIERS HAVE PREVENTED WIDESPREAD UPTAKE OF TERRESTRIAL C SEQUESTRATION PROJECTS, EVEN AS THE DIRE NEED TO REDUCE EMISSIONS HAS BECOME MORE URGENT. WE PROPOSE TO EXPLORE A NEW, INNOVATIVE, LOW-COST, EASY-TO-VERIFY, SCALABLE APPROACH TO TERRESTRIAL C SEQUESTRATION: CREATION OF BIOLOGICALLY INACTIVE CARBOHYDRATE ENANTIOMERS CAPABLE OF RESISTING DECOMPOSITION. L-GLUCOSE CATABOLISM WAS THOUGHT NOT TO EXIST, BUT ITS RECENT DISCOVERY IN A SOIL BACTERIUM UNDERMINES THE BLACK AND WHITE TEXTBOOK NARRATIVE OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE OR INACTIVE ENANTIOMERS AND SUGGESTS A MUCH RICHER, MORE COMPLEX WORLD.THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS EXPLORE L-CARBOHYDRATE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION IN SOILS. IF (1) SOIL MICROBES HAVE EVOLVED THE ABILITY TO SYNTHESIZE L-CARBOHYDRATES, (2) THE ABILITY OF SOIL MICROBES TO CATABOLIZE L-CARBOHYDRATES IS RARE, AND (3) WE CAN DEVELOP TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY, ISOLATE, AND PROPAGATE SOIL MICROBES THAT SYNTHESIZE L-CARBOHYDRATES, IT MAY BE POSSIBLE TODEVISE A SYSTEM IN WHICH SOIL MICROBES (OR THE GENES THEREIN) ARE USED TO MANUFACTURE STABLE L-CARBOHYDRATES THAT COULD BE SEQUESTERED IN SOIL.OUR APPROACH WILL APPLY HIGH-THROUGHPUT PHENOTYPIC ASSAYS TO ASSESS CATABOLISM AND SYNTHESIS OF A WIDE VARIETY OF L-CARBOHYDRATES. THIS INNOVATIVE APPROACH IS DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO THE GOALS OF THE BIOENERGY, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM AREA. EVEN IF OUR HYPOTHESIZED PATHWAY TO A NEW MEANS OF TERRESTRIAL C SEQUESTRATION IS BLOCKED - BECAUSE L-CARBOHYDRATE CATABOLISM IS COMMON, BECAUSE WE FAIL TO DISCOVER ORGANISMS CAPABLE OF L-CARBOHYDRATE SYNTHESIS, OR BECAUSE L-CARBOHYDRATES NEGATIVELY IMPACT SOIL HEALTH - WE BELIEVE THAT THIS THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THIS WORK WILL MARK A STEP-CHANGE IN OUR THINKING ABOUT THE FUNDAMENTAL BIOCHEMISTRY OF OUR WORLD, UNLOCKING NEW AVENUES OF RESEARCH.