**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-PARASITIC NEMATODES (PPNS) ARE ESTIMATED TO CAUSE OVER $170 BILLION IN LOST AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION GLOBALLY EACH YEAR, WITH LOSSES OF OVER $13 BILLION IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE. TO MEET EXPECTED FOOD DEMAND IN 2050, WHEN THE WORLD IS PROJECTED TO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL 2 BILLION PEOPLE, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE REDUCE CROP LOSSES TO PPNS.THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP GENETIC-BASED RESISTANCE TO PPNS USING SOYBEAN AND THE SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE (SCN) AS MODEL PATHOSYSTEM.PLANTS HAVE THE ABILITY TO DETECT DISEASE-CAUSING ORGANISMS (PATHOGENS) AND THEN ACTIVATE A ROBUST DEFENSE RESPONSE THAT ULTIMATELY LEADS TO LOCALIZED CELL DEATH TO STOP THE INVADER. TO DETECT PATHOGENS, PLANTS USE SENSOR PROTEINS THAT ARE MODIFIED BY ENZYMES THAT PATHOGENS SECRETE DURING THE INFECTION PROCESS. THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON IDENTIFYING ENZYMES SECRETED BY SCN THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR INFECTION OF SOYBEAN. ONCE SUCH ENZYMES ARE IDENTIFIED, SENSOR PROTEINS WILL BE DESIGNED THAT CAN ACTIVATE DEFENSE RESPONSES IN SOYBEAN UPON MODIFICATION BY THESE SCN ENZYMES.SUCH A SYSTEM WOULD THUS CONFER RESISTANCE TO INFECTION BY PPNS WITHOUT THE USE OF COSTLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY DAMAGING PESTICIDES AND SHOULD BE TRANSFERRABLE TO A WIDE ARRAY OF IMPORTANT CROP PLANTS THAT ARE DAMAGED BY PPNS.