**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 TRAITS OF ORGANISMS ARE DETERMINED BY THEIR COMPLEMENTS OF GENES. EUKARYOTIC ORGANISMS ARE NORMALLY DIPLOID OR HAPLOID, BUT SOME MAY BE POLYPLOID,BEARING THREE OR MORE SETS OF HOMOLOGOUS CHROMOSOMES. POLYPLOIDY OCCURS IN ALL MAJOR EUKARYOTIC GROUPS, BUT MUCH REMAINS TO BE LEARNED ABOUT ITS CELLULAR EFFECTS AND EVOLUTIONARY IMPACT. IN THE LONG-TERM, POLYPLOIDY MAY HELP SPECIES ADAPT TO NEW ENVIRONMENTS BY PROVIDING MORE GENE COPIES FOR FUNCTIONAL DIVERSIFICATION. IN THE SHORTER-TERM, VARIATIONS IN PLOIDY MAY CHANGE NUCLEAR BEHAVIOR, METABOLISM, GENE EXPRESSION, AND THE CELL CYCLE. IN THIS PROJECT,THE NEAR-TERM EFFECTS OF POLYPLOIDY(AUTOPOLYPLOIDY) WILL BE EXAMINED IN THE FILAMENTOUS EUKARYOTIC MICROBEPHYTOPHTHORA INFESTANS.THIS ISA MEMBER OF THE OOMYCETE GROUP OF THE STRAMENOPILE CLADE AND CAUSE OF THE IMPORTANT LATE BLIGHT DISEASES OF POTATO AND TOMATO. MOST STRAINS AT THE PRESUMED CENTER OF ORIGIN OFP. INFESTANSARE DIPLOID, BUTPOLYPLOIDY PREDOMINATES ELSEWHERE. WE HAVE SHOWN THATPOLYPLOIDS ARISE DURING SEXUAL REPRODUCTION AT A HIGH FREQUENCY DUE TO ERRORS IN MEIOSIS. RESEARCHERS HAVE PROPOSED THAT POLYPLOIDY ITSELF INCREASES FITNESS, BUT THIS HAS NOT BEEN TESTED. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO MEASURE THE IMPACT OF PLOIDY FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF ORGANISMAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, EVOLUTIONARY, AND MOLECULAR/CELLULAR BIOLOGY. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY STUDYING THE EFFECTS OF POLYPLOIDY ON GROWTH,CELL-TYPE DIFFERENTIATION, THE DISEASE CYCLE, METABOLISM, AND CELL BIOLOGY.

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