BY CONNECTING EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY TO MODERN APPLICATIONS IN BREEDING METHODS, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO BOTH FURTHER FUNDAMENTAL SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF GENETIC LOAD IN PLANTS AS WELL AS IMPROVE BREEDING EFFORTS IN CLONALLY PROPAGATED CROPS. THE ACCUMULATION OF DELETERIOUS ALLELES IN A GENOME RESULTS IN SUBOPTIMAL FITNESS, TERMED AS GENETIC LOAD, PLAGUES MANY PLANT SPECIES. DOMESTICATION AND CLONAL PROPAGATION ARE PROCESSES THAT EXACERBATE THE LEVEL OF GENETIC LOAD IN A GENOME. MOST, IF NOT ALL, MODERN CROPS HAVE GONE THROUGH DOMESTICATION, AND MANY CROPS SUCH AS POTATOES, SUGARCANE, AND FRUIT TREES, ARE PROPAGATED CLONALLY. UNDERSTANDING THE DELETERIOUS ALLELES UNDERLYING GENETIC LOAD CAN INFORM BREEDING METHODS TO INCREASE PREDICTION ACCURACY AND GENETIC GAINS. CASSAVA (MANIHOT ESCULENTA) IS CLONALLY PROPAGATED CROP THAT IS A MAJOR FOOD SOURCE FOR HALF A BILLION PEOPLE IN TROPICAL REGIONS AROUND THE GLOBE. DELETERIOUS ALLELES WILL BE MEASURED BY ANALYZING EVOLUTIONARY CONSTRAINT AMONG RELATED SPECIES. WE PLAN ON SEQUENCING MULTIPLE RELATIVES OF CASSAVA, DISCOVER DELETERIOUS MUTATIONS, AND INCORPORATE THOSE MUTATIONS INTO PREDICTIVE MODELS THAT COULD IMPROVE BREEDING METHODS AND ACCELERATE PLANT IMPROVEMENT.