PROJECTSUMMARY:PLANT VIRUSESCAUSE US$30B LOSSES ANNUALLY WORLDWIDE.VIRICIDE FOR CONTROL OF VIRUSES IN CROPS IS NONEXISTENT AND THEREFORE, WE RELY HEAVILY ON THE USE OF VIRAL-RESISTANT PLANT VARIETIES AND PROPHYLACTIC METHODS.HOWEVER, THE LACK OF NATURAL VIRAL-RESISTANT GENES IN PLANTS COUPLED WITH A CONSTANT EMERGENCE OF NEW VIRUS STRAINS, AND THE INEFFICIENCY OF INSECTICIDES TO CONTROL VECTOR-INSECTS OF VIRUSES, MAKE PLANT VIRUS DISEASE MANAGEMENT A CHALLENGING TASK.THUS, THERE IS AN INCREASING DEMAND FOR INNOVATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE WAYS OF CONTROLLING VIRUS EPIDEMICS IN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS.VIRUS RESISTANCE HAS BEEN INDUCED IN PLANTS BY THE APPLICATION OF EXOGENOUS DOUBLE-STRANDED RNA (DSRNA), BUT ITS EFFECTIVENESS IS SHORT-LIVED (~ FIVE DAYS).DSRNA IS QUICKLY ASSIMILATED BY PLANT DEFENSE MECHANISMS AND IS ALSO DEGRADED BY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. AS SAFE APPLICATIONS OF NANOMATERIALS DEVELOP, NANOTECHNOLOGY IS BECOMING A PROMISING RESOURCE TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE.WE PROPOSETO DEVELOP A NOVEL AND SUSTAINABLE NANOPARTICLE PLATFORM TO DELIVER AN EFFECTIVE AND PROLONGED SUPPLY OF DSRNAS IN PLANTS, WITH THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES TO CONTROL PLANT VIRUSES.WE PROPOSE TO USE A STAPLE CROP AND ITS MOST DESTRUCTIVE VIRUS PATHOGEN (POTATO AND POTATO VIRUS Y) AS OUR RESEARCH SYSTEM.OUR TWO SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND DELIVERABLES ARE:SHORT-TERM:SYNTHESIZE THREE DIFFERENT NANOPARTICLE PLATFORMS (CHITOSAN, SILICA, AND CARBON DOTS) AND TEST THEIR CAPACITY TO PROVIDE STABLE AND SUSTAINED DELIVERY OF DSRNA MOLECULES INTO POTATO PLANT TISSUE.LONG-TERM:DEVELOP ATUNABLE PLATFORM FOR DSRNA DELIVERY(NANOPARTICLE-DSRNA COMPLEX) THAT CANBE TRANSLATED TO A RANGE OF VIRAL-CROP SYSTEMS.