** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** INSECT PESTS POSE A MAJOR THREAT TO UNITED STATES AGRICULTURE AND MANY PEST MANAGEMENT TOOLS, SUCH AS PESTICIDES ARE LOSING THEIR EFFECTIVENESS AS PESTS BECOME RESISTANT. THIS CONTRIBUTES TO LOST AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, FINANCIAL BURDENS FOR GROWERS AND CONSUMERS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL BURDENS THROUGH INCREASED PESTICIDE INPUTS. A MAJOR GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP NEW TARGETED AGRICULTURAL PEST MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES THAT REDUCE CROP LOSSES AND PRODUCTION COSTS, WHILE IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY.WE WILL USE CUTTING-EDGE GENOME-EDITING TECHNOLOGY TO CREATE COTTON PLANTS WITH MODIFIED PRODUCTION OF ECOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT DEFENSE COMPOUNDS CALLED TERPENOIDS. TERPENOIDS PLAY IMPORTANT ROLES IN PLANT DEFENSE AGAINST INSECTS AND PATHOGENS AND BY ALTERING PLANT PRODUCTION OF THESE COMPOUNDS, WE EXPECT TO BOOST PLANT RESISTANCE TO KEY INSECT PESTS. WE WILL CHARACTERIZE THE DEFENSE CHEMISTRY OF GENOME-EDITED COTTON PLANTS AND EVALUATE THEIR RESISTANCE AGAINST A SUITE OF KEY PEST SPECIES, INCLUDING COTTON APHIDS AND BOLLWORM CATERPILLARS. THE FINDINGS FROM THIS RESEARCH WILL INCREASE OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT TERPENOID BIOSYNTHESIS IN COTTON PLANTS AND THE ROLE OF TERPENOID COMPOUNDS IN COTTON RESISTANCE AGAINST INSECT PESTS, WHICH WILL ADVANCE THE FIELDS OF BIOCHEMISTRY, CHEMICAL ECOLOGY, AND PLANT BIOLOGY. THIS RESEARCH WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO IMPROVING SUSTAINABLE AND EFFECTIVE PEST MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES BY IDENTIFYING NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN REDUCE PESTICIDE INPUTS AND IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY.