** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON NEMATODES, TINY WORMS THAT ARE FOUND IN ALMOST ALL HABITATS AND ARE AMONG THE MOST ABUNDANT ANIMALS ON EARTH, PLAYING IMPORTANT ROLES IN SOILS AND PLANTS. PLANT-PARASITIC NEMATODES ARE PROBLEMATIC NEMATODES THAT FEED ON PLANTS, INCLUDING ALL MAJOR CROPS, CAUSING AN ESTIMATED 25% OF CROP YIELD LOSS GLOBALLY AND COSTING AT LEAST $100 BILLION ANNUALLY. CURRENTLY, THESE NEMATODES THREATENING CROPS ARE DIFFICULT TO CONTROL WITHOUT COSTLY CHEMICALS THAT CAN BE ENVIRONMENTALLY DAMAGING OR PROMOTE STRAINS THAT ARE RESISTANT TO TREATMENT. THEREFORE, THIS PROJECT INVESTIGATES AN ALTERNATIVE NON-TOXIC SOLUTION THAT MAY BE DEVELOPED TO CONTROL PLANT-PARASITIC NEMATODES. THE FOCUS IS ON NATURALLY OCCURRING BACTERIA HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED LIVING WITHIN THESE WORMS THAT MAY DRIVE THEIR SURVIVAL AND DIRECT OR MEDIATE THEIR DEVASTATING IMPACTS ON PLANTS. THESE BACTERIA, PRESENT IN SOME OF THE MOST DAMAGING NEMATODES, ARE RELATED TO BACTERIA, SUCH AS WOLBACHIA, THAT ARE CURRENTLY USED IN BREAKTHROUGH APPROACHES TO CONTROL MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASES. THE SIMILARITY OF THE NEMATODE BACTERIA TO THE BIOCONTROL AGENTS IN INSECTS, SUGGESTS THEY MAY HOLD PROMISE FOR AGRICULTURAL CONTROL STRATEGIES THAT REDUCE THE USE OF TOXIC CHEMICALS TO CONTROL NEMATODES. THE GOAL IS TO GENERATE THE FIRST COHERENT PICTURE OF HOW THESE NEMATODE-INHABITING BACTERIA FUNCTION TO IMPACT NEMATODE BIOLOGY AND THEREIN IMPACT CROPS, ALSO EXAMINING HOW STRESSORS SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE AND LAND USE AFFECT THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THESE BACTERIA, NEMATODES, AND PLANTS. THE APPROACH SEIZES THE OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDED BY THESE WIDESPREAD INTERACTIONS, USING GLOBAL SAMPLING TOGETHER WITH INEXPENSIVE HIGH-THROUGHPUT GENOME SKIMMING AND METHODS SUCH AS MULTI-OMICS, BIOINFORMATIC DATABASE MINING, AND GROWING SYMBIONT-CLEARED NEMATODES IN ROOT CULTURES AND TRANSPARENT SOILS. THE PROJECT'S METHODS BRIDGE TRADITIONALLY SEPARATED FIELDS OF PLANT PATHOLOGY, NEMATOLOGY, AND MICROBIOLOGY TO OVERCOME SIGNIFICANT ROADBLOCKS TO UNDERSTANDING RHIZOSPHERE ECOLOGY, OR THE INTERACTIONS IN THE SOIL SURROUNDING ROOTS. THIS PROJECT WILL HAVE SOCIETAL AND EDUCATIONAL IMPACTS THROUGH A BIOINFORMATICS COMPUTING PROGRAM FOR UNDERGRADUATES, A GENOMICS SCHOLARS PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, A RHIZOSPHERE BIOMODELLING PROGRAM FOR COMMUNITY NETWORKING, AND A RHIZOSPHERE CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAM FOR OUTREACH NATIONALLY TO CITIZENS WHO WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE RESEARCH. THESE EDUCATIONAL COMPONENTS WILL INTEGRATE WITH RESEARCH ACTIVITIES IN INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES TO TRAIN UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS THROUGH TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY'S DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATION, AS A HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTION AT THE CENTER OF A RURAL COMMUNITY WITH MANY FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS INTERESTED IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES.