**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE LIVELIHOOD OF PRODUCERS IN THE U.S. SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS IS DEPENDENT ON HARD RED WINTER WHEAT PRODUCTION AND EXPORT. RECENTLY IDENTIFIED ISOLATES OF A FUNGAL PLANT PATHOGEN THAT LOOKS VERY SIMILAR TO A RESTRICTED PATHOGEN (ABBR. TCK) POSES AN EMERGING THREAT TO U.S. WHEAT EXPORTS FROM THIS REGION. BASED ON PREVIOUS RESERACH, WE KNOW THAT TCK CANNOT BE ESTABLISHED IN THIS REGION DUE TO STRICT ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INFECTION. LOSS OF IMPORTANT EXPORT MARKETS, SUCH AS CHINA, WOULD BE DEVISTATING. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT TCK IS NOT PRESENT IN THIS REGION AND THAT, INSTEAD, THE CURRENT DIAGNOSTIC TESTS ARE NOT ADEQUATE TO DISTINGUISH CLOSLEY RELATED SPECIES, RESULTING IN FALSE POSITIVES. WE PROPOSE THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES TO ADDRESS THIS EMERGING CONCERN: 1) PHENOTYPE A SET OF ISOLATES OF THESE RELATED PATHOGENS FOR KEY DIAGNOSTIC TRAITS IN BOTH LABORATORY AND GREENHOUSE SCREENS AND CONDUCT A GENETIC DIVERSITY ANALYSIS AND GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY TO CORRELATE WITH PHENOTYPES; 2) CONDUCT GENETIC MAPPING OF FUNGAL DIAGNOSTIC TRAITS TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE BIOLOGICALLY RELEVANT MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS; 3) EVALUATE THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS FAVORING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE DISEASES WITH CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT STUDIES AND A QUANTITATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT; 4) DISSEMINATE INFORMATION TO STAKEHOLDERS AND PRODUCERS IN THE GREAT PLAINS THROUGH EXTENSION EDUCATION ACTIVITIES AND ON-FARM DEMONSTRATIONS. WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO DEVELOP NEW, MORE SENSITIVEY DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES THAT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED BY GRAIN INSPECTION SERVICES. ADDITIONALLY, WE WIL GENERATE NEW KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE BIOLOGY, EPIDEMIOLOGY, AND MANAGEMEN OF THESE PATHOGENS THROUGH THE COURSE OF THIS PROJECT. WE ANTICIPATE THAT OVER THE LIFECYCLE OF THIS PROJECT WE WILL ESTABLISH A SENSITIVE AND SPECIFIC MOLECULAR DIANGOSTIC TEST AND THAT THIS WILL BE IMPLEMENTED BY GRAIN INSPECITION SERVICES, PRESERVING AN EXPORT MARKET TO CHINA THAT WAS WORTH $570 MILLION IN 2020. WE ALSO ANTICIPATE AN INCREASED ADOPTION OF SEED TREATMENTS AND OTHER BEST MANAGEMENT STRATIGIES BY WHEAT PRODUCERS IN THE REGION, RESULTING IN REDUCED YIELD AND QUALITY LOSSES AND INCREASED ON-FARM PROFITS.