** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** USING GENOMICS TECHNOLOGY TO IDENTIFY MOLECULAR MARKERS THAT CAN BE USED TO SELECT FOR TRAITS OF INTEREST IS STILL NOT AS EFFICIENT AS IT CAN BE. SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGY HAS OUTPACED THE METHODS USED TO CONNECT GENOTYPES TO PHENOTYPES EFFECTIVELY ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF SPECIES. ONE MAJOR TIME CONSTRAINT IN BREEDING PROGRAMS IS THE BIFURCATION OF THE APPLIED BREEDING PROGRAM WITH THE GENETIC DISCOVERY PROGRAM. USING BREEDING RELEVANT STRUCTURED POPULATIONS IN AN INNOVATIVE WAY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO INCREASE THE RESOLUTION OF GENETIC MAPPING AND DECREASE THE TIME IT TAKES TO DEVELOP IMPORTANT GENOMIC TOOLS. THE ABILITY TO REACT QUICKLY TO EMERGING THREATS IN AGRICULTURE WITH NATIVE GENETIC VARIATION BEING IDENTIFIED, SELECTED FOR, AND DEPLOYED IS AN IMPORTANT GOAL FOR TRANSLATION GENOMICS RESEARCH.WE WILL USE ADVANCED SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGY TO CONSTRUCT A PANGENOME FOR A NEWLY DEVELOPED PEANUT MULTI PARENT ADVANCED GENERATION INTERCROSS POPULATION (MAGIC). WE WILL ASSESS THE ADVANTAGES OF CONSTRUCTING A MAGIC POPULATION IN AN INBRED POLYPLOID CROP THAT HAS MINIMAL GENETIC DIVERSITY. WE WILL MAP TWO VERY IMPORTANT TRAITS IN PEANUT; STEM ROT RESISTANCE AND DROUGHT TOLERANCE. WE WILL USE A MODIFIED STRATEGY TO ATTAIN HIGHER GENETIC RESOLUTION; I.E. INCREASE OUR ABILITY TO DETECT VARIATION THAT IS TIGHTLY LINKED TO OUR TRAIT OF INTEREST. THIS STRATEGY WILL RELY ON THE GENETIC POWER OF THE PANGENOME TO SHIFT THE RESOURCE ALLOCATION FROM POPULATION ADVANCEMENT AND REPLICATION TO ONE YEAR OF INTENSIVE PHENOTYPING AND GENETIC MAPPING. WE ANTICIPATE THAT THE SHIFT IN RESOURCES WILL ALLOW THE IDENTIFICATION OF BENEFICIAL GENOMIC TOOLS QUICKLY, WITHIN BREEDING RELEVANT POPULATIONS, THAT WILL EFFECTIVELY COMBINE BREEDING WITH GENETIC DISCOVERY. AGRONOMICALLY RELEVANT GERMPLASM WILL BE ABLE TO BE SELECTED FOR AND TESTED WITHIN THE GENETIC EXPERIMENT, VASTLY DECREASING THE TIME FROM DISCOVERY TO CROP IMPROVEMENT.THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEMONSTRATE THIS APPROACH IS VALUABLE AS ANEW TOOL TO MORE QUICKLY DEVELOP GENOMIC RESOURCES AND IMPROVE CROPS MORE EFFECTIVELY TO FEED A GROWING POPULATION IN OUR EVOLVING ENVIRONMENT.