**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** CURRENT AND EMERGING BIOTECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES OFFER PROMISING IMPROVEMENTS TO SORGHUM FOR BIOENERGY USES. HOWEVER, THERE IS THE RISK OF POLLEN FLOW TO RELATED WEED SPECIES, JOHNSON GRASS AND SHATTERCANE AND GRAIN SORGHUM, WHICH IS MARKETED AS A NON-GMO GRAIN FOR EXPORT AND GLUTEN-FREE FOODS. THUS, USDA-APHIS REGULATIONS FOR GENETICALLY- ENGINEERED (GE) SORGHUM REQUIRE ALL FLOWERS BE COVERED PRIOR TO FLOWERING TO PREVENT POLLEN-FLOW AND REMAIN COVERED THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE GROWING SEASON TO PREVENT SEED DISPERSAL. THEREFORE, PREVENTING BOTH POLLEN FLOW AND SEED SET IN GE SORGHUM ARE CRITICAL CONTAINMENT BARRIERS REQUIRED FOR SAFE USE OF GENETIC ENGINEERING ADVANCES IN BIOENERGY AND FORAGE SORGHUMS. OUR GOAL IS TO DEVELOP AND EVALUATE CONTAINMENT STRATEGIES BASED ON MALE STERILITY AND THE SIX KNOWN GENES CONTROLLING FLOWERING TIME THAT WHEN COMBINED WITH THE COMMONLY USED LINE 'TX430' TO CREATE GE SORGHUMS THE NEXT GENERATION OF PLANTS WILL EITHER NOT PRODUCE FUNCTIONAL POLLEN OR FLOWER. THESE TWO STRATEGIES WILL BE COMBINED TOGETHER AS A REDUNDANCY TO FURTHER REDUCE THE RISK OF POLLEN SPREADING TO OTHER SORGHUMS AND WEEDY RELATIVES. AS PROOF OF CONCEPT, THE SORGHUM LINES DEVELOPED WILL BE CROSS-POLLINATED WITH GE SORGHUM (TX430) FOR BIOENERGY UTILIZATION, AND THE NEXT GENERATION OF PLANTS WILL BE EVALUATED IN THE FIELD. THE KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION GAINED FROM THIS RESEARCH WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ADVANCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTAINMENT STRATEGIES TO MITIGATE POLLEN FLOW RISKS IN LARGE-SCALE (E.G. 100 ACRES) TRIALS OF GE BIOENERGY SORGHUM.