AS IT IS WIDELY KNOWN, CURRENT METHODS OF PLASTIC PRODUCTION AND DISPOSAL ARE PROBLEMATIC ON A GLOBAL SCALE. PLASTIC IS PETROLEUM BASED, WHICH IS NON-RENEWABLE, AND THE AMOUNT OF PLASTIC THAT HAS BEEN IMPROPERLY DISPOSED OF IS POSING MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS. NATURALLY DERIVED AND BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS SOURCED FROM RENEWABLE FEEDSTOCKS ARE AN ATTRACTIVE ALTERNATIVE FOR MITIGATING THE CURRENT PLASTIC CRISIS. ONE KNOWN BIOLOGICAL SYSTEM FOR BIOPLASTIC PRODUCTION IS THE NON-MODEL BACTERIUM, PARABURKHOLDERIA SACCHARI, WHICH MAKES THE BIOPLASTIC POLY-3-HYDROXYBUTYRATE-CO-3-HYDROXYVALERATE (PHBV) AND CAN DO SO BY CONSUMING AGRICULTURAL WASTE PRODUCTS SUCH AS CORN KERNEL FIBER. THIS MICROBE IS OF MAJOR INTEREST FOR INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION OF PHBV, HOWEVER IN ITS NATURAL STATE IT DOES NOT PRODUCE ENOUGH HIGH-QUALITY PLASTIC.IN THIS PROJECT, PLANS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE PLASTIC TAKE A TWO-PART APPROACH. FIRST, CREATION OF A COMPUTATIONAL MODEL BASED ON GENETIC INFORMATION WILL PROVIDEA SIMULATION TOOL FOR UNDERSTANDING HOW NUTRIENT RESOURCES FLOW THROUGH THE CELL'S METABOLISM. THIS MODEL COULD THEN BE USED TO PREDICT HOW THE BACTERIUM'S METABOLISM COULD BE REROUTED TO IMPROVE PHBV PRODUCTION. IN THE SECOND PART OF THE APPROACH, THESE MODIFICATIONS, ALONG WITH A PRE-PLANNED SET, WILL BE MADE. THIS WILL INCLUDE INTRODUCING NEW GENES TO INCREASE THE FLOW OF RESOURCES TO PHBV PRODUCTION AS WELL AS REMOVING NATIVE GENES TO KNOCKOUT PATHWAYS WHICH PULL RESOURCES AWAY FROM PRODUCTION. MODIFICATIONS TO THE BACTERIUM'S METABOLIC PATHWAYS COULD IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE PLASTIC BEING PRODUCED AND TURN P. SACCHARI INTO AN INDUSTRIAL WORKHORSE FOR BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC PRODUCTION. THIS COULD BE A VERY MEANINGFUL DEVELOPMENT FOR BOOSTING THE VALUE OF CURRENTLY LOW-VALUE AGRICULTURAL WASTE PRODUCTS AND PROVIDING SOME ENVIRONMENTAL RELIEF TO ECOSYSTEMS INUNDATED WITH NON-RENEWABLE AND NON-PERISHABLE PLASTICS.