CLIMATE CHANGE IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE FOREST DROUGHT STRESS. IN RESPONSE, SEVERITY OF FOREST DISEASE COMPLEXES, SUCH AS THOUSAND CANKERS DISEASE (TCD) IS HYPOTHESIZED TO INCREASE. TCD IS CAUSED BY THE BARK BEETLE VECTOR PITYOPHTHORUS JUGLANDIS AND FUNGAL PATHOGEN GEOSMITHIA MORBIDA. TCD THREATENS JUGLANS NIGRA (BLACK WALNUT), AN AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY WITH AN ESTIMATED STANDING CROP VOLUME OF 3.5 METRIC TONS (APPROXIMATELY $539 BILLION). TCD SEVERITY APPEARS TO BE GREATER DURING DROUGHT, HOWEVER, THIS RELATIONSHIP HAS NEVER BEEN MEASURED. THUS, THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO IDENTIFY THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, SUCH AS DROUGHT STRESS ON TCD SEVERITY. IN DOING SO, WE CAN DEVELOP MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR TCD AND IDENTIFY NATURALLY OCCURING J. NIGRA ENDOPHYTES TOLERANT TO DROUGHT STRESS THAT COULD SERVE AS BIOCONTROLS FOR TCD. TO ACHIEVE OUR LONG-TERM GOAL, WE WILL CONDUCT A GREENHOUSE STUDY WHERE G. MORBIDA VIRULENCE, MICROBIAL COMMUNITY COMPOSITION, AND GENE EXPRESSION OF DROUGHT-STRESSED J. NIGRA TREES ARE QUANTIFIED, CHARACTERIZED, AND COMPARED TO WELL-WATERED J. NIGRA TREES. THE PROPOSED PREDOCTORAL PROGRAM AND RESEARCH PROJECT ADDRESS AFRI RESEARCH PRIORITY AREA 1: PLANT HEALTH AND PRODUCTION AND PLANT PRODUCTS AND WILL PROVIDE PREDOCTORAL STUDENT, AARON ONUFRAK, MENTORED BY DR. DENITA HADZIABDIC, BOTH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, AN OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN COMMUNICATION, MENTORING, TEACHING, AND EXTENSION EXPERIENCE. FURTHERMORE, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ADDRESSES AFRI EWD GOALS: (1) SATISFY HUMAN FOOD AND FIBER NEEDS AND (3) MAKE THE MOST EFFICIENT USE OF NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES AND ON-FARM RESOURCES AND INTEGRATE, WHERE APPROPRIATE, NATURAL BIOLOGICAL CYCLES AND CONTROLS.