PLANT HEALTH AND PLANT PRODUCTS (AFRI FARM BILL PRIORITY) ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO ELEVATED TEMPERATURES CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE. AS AMBIENT TEMPERATURES INCREASE, THE BIOSYNTHESIS OF THE DEFENSE HORMONE SALICYLIC ACID (SA) IS SUPPRESSED, WHICH INCREASES PLANT SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PATHOGEN INFECTION.THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO UTILIZE A QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI SEQUENCING (QTL-SEQ) APPROACH TO HELP IDENTIFY GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS IN NATURAL PLANT POPULATIONS THAT CONFER TEMPERATURE-RESISTANT SA BIOSYNTHESIS DURING PATHOGEN INFECTION. UNDER THE MENTORSHIP OF DR. SHENG YANG HE AT DUKE UNIVERSITY, I WILL APPLY THIS APPROACH TO A RECOMBINANT INBRED LINE (RIL) POPULATION THAT WAS CREATED BY CROSSING ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA ACCESSIONS THAT EXHIBIT TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE OR -INSENSITIVE SA BIOSYNTHESIS DURING PATHOGEN INFECTION.THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS RESEARCH ARE TO 1) ASSESS RILS FOR TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE SA BIOSYNTHESIS, 2) PERFORM QTL-SEQ ON RIL POOLS TO IDENTIFY CAUSAL LOCI, 3) VALIDATE PUTATIVE POLYMORPHISMS VIA REVERSE GENETIC AND TRANSGENIC APPROACHES, AND 4) MENTOR AND SUPERVISE AN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT PROJECT AIMED AT IDENTIFYING NATURAL ACCESSIONS OF TOMATO RETAINING SA BIOSYNTHESIS AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES.THE FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE GLEANED BY THIS RESEARCH WILL LEAD TO THE DISCOVERY OF MOLECULAR MECHANISMS THAT CONFER TEMPERATURE-RESILIENT IMMUNITY IN PLANTS THAT CAN BE LEVERAGED FOR CROP BREEDING AND PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE PLANT HEALTH AND PRODUCTION. ALONG WITH DEVELOPING COMPETENCIES FOR GENOMIC ANALYSES, I WILL CONTINUE MY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PARTICIPATION IN DEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEES, PRODUCTIVE MENTORSHIP INTERACTIONS, AND FURTHER DEVELOP MY TEACHING ABILITIES BY CO-DEVELOPING AND TEACHING AN UNDERGRADUATE COURSE ON THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON PLANT/ANIMAL HEALTH.