**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** PLANT DISEASES, ALONG WITH PESTS AND WEEDS, PRESENT SIGNIFICANT IMPEDIMENTS TO AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND FOOD BIOSECURITY. THE US HAS A NETWORK OF UNIVERSITY PLANT DISEASE CLINICS THAT DIAGNOSE, SURVEY, AND EDUCATE STAKEHOLDERS (GROWERS) TO HELP THEM MANAGE LOSSES FROM PLANT DISEASES. THE RAPIDITY WITH WHICH DISEASES CAN SPREAD, BOTH NATURALLY AND ARTIFICIALLY THROUGH TRADE, MEANS PLANT CLINICS HAVE A CRITICAL NEED TO INCREASE THEIR CAPACITY IN HELPING STAKEHOLDERS. WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING HAS DEMONSTRATED BENEFITS IN ACCELERATING DIAGNOSIS, SHORTENING RESPONSE TIMES, AND MITIGATING RISKS OF HUMAN DISEASES AND IS EMERGING AS A PROMISING METHOD FOR PLANT CLINICS TO HELP THEIR STAKEHOLDERS. HOWEVER, USE OF WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING HAS NOT BEEN EFFECTIVELY INTEGRATED IN PLANT DISEASE DIAGNOSTICS. TOOLS, INFRASTRUCTURE, DATASETS, AND EXPERTISE NECESSARY FOR LEVERAGING WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING DATA ARE NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT MOST CLINICS.THIS RESEARCH TEAM CONSISTS OF A CONSORTIUM OF RESEARCHERS AND PLANT CLINIC DIAGNOSTICIANS. THE TEAM WILL DEVELOP PLANT PATHOGEN-SPECIFIC TOOLS TO OVERCOME THE BOTTLENECK IN COMPUTATIONAL DATA ANALYSIS AND EMPOWER EXPERTS IN DISEASE DIAGNOSTICS TO USE GENOMIC METHODS. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT ARE TO: 1) DEVELOP STANDARD PROTOCOLS TO ENSURE HIGH QUALITY, RELIABLE RESULTS, ESSENTIAL FOR ACTIONAL INSIGHTS, 2) DEVELOP COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS THAT AUTOMATE AND SIMPLIFY PROCESSING AND ANALYZING WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING INFORMATION, 3) DEVELOP NEW TOOLS THAT ALLOW END-USERS TO VISUALIZE WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING INFORMATION AND GAIN INSIGHTS TO BETTER MANAGE DISEASE AND DISEASE SPREAD, 4) DEVELOP NEW METHODS TO SEQUENCE DNA OF COMMUNITIES OF MICROORGANISMS AND PREDICT POSSIBLE CAUSATIVE AGENTS OF DISEASE, AND 5) VALIDATE THE TOOLS AND COMMUNICATE FINDINGS TO DIAGNOSTICIANS IN PLANT CLINICS. THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO IMPLEMENT A SURVEILLANCE NETWORK OF PLANT CLINICS THAT SHARE AND USE WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING INFORMATION. THIS IS EXPECTED TO ACCELERATE DIAGNOSIS, SHORTEN RESPONSE TIME TO OUTBREAKS, PROVIDE MORE ACCURATE AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES, AND ENABLE EARLIER DISRUPTION OF TRANSMISSION CHAINS TO HELP STAKEHOLDERS BETTER MITIGATE RISKS OF DISEASE TO PLANTS.