** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES AN IMPORTANT CHALLENGE IN THE AREA OF NOVEL FERMENTED PLANT PROTEIN FOOD -A DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNCTIONAL GENES OF FERMENTATION STARTER STRAINS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SPECIFIC FUNCTIONALITY (CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, BIOACTIVITIES, AND SENSORY PROPERTIES) OF FERMENTED FOOD. CURRENTLY, SOYBEAN MEAL, AN ABUNDANT BYPRODUCT OF OIL EXTRACTION, HAS NOT BEEN EFFECTIVELY UTILIZED AS A HUMAN PROTEIN SOURCE; AND TEMPEH FERMENTATION IS A PROMISING APPROACH TO CONVERT SOYBEAN MEAL INTO A MEAT ALTERNATIVE FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. HOWEVER, DETAILED INFORMATION ON HOW SPECIFIC GENES OF TEMPEH STARTERS MODULATE THE SPECIFIC FUNCTIONALITY OF SOYBEAN MEAL TEMPEH IS NOT AVAILABLE. THEREFORE, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO RATIONALLY DESIGN AND DEVELOP A FERMENTATION PROCESS TO PRODUCE A TEMPEH MEAT ALTERNATIVE WITH OPTIMIZED FUNCTIONALITY FOR A DIVERSE POPULATION. THIS PROJECT PROPOSES A COMBINATIONAL APPROACH OF MULTI-OMICS, PHYSIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS, AND CONSUMER SENSORY EVALUATION TO GAINDETAILED FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE GENETIC BASIS OF SOYBEAN MEAL TEMPEH FERMENTATION AND ITS IMPACT ON PRODUCT FUNCTIONALITY. AT THE COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT, WE WILL SYSTEMATICALLY (I) ESTABLISH THE GENOMICS AND TRANSCRIPTOMICS PROFILES OF UNIQUE TEMPEH STARTER STRAINS, CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, AND BIOACTIVITIES PROFILE, AS WELL AS THE SENSORY PROFILE OF SOYBEAN MEAL TEMPEH PRODUCED BY THESE STRAINS; AND (II) IDENTIFY AND VALIDATE THE ROLE OF SPECIFIC STARTER STRAIN GENES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAJOR FUNCTIONALITY OF SOYBEAN MEAL TEMPEH. THIS KNOWLEDGE IS INDISPENSABLE FOR PRODUCING NEXT-GENERATION FERMENTED PLANT-BASED MEAT ALTERNATIVES WITH OPTIMIZED FUNCTIONALITY. THE RESULT OF THIS PROJECT IS OF HIGH PRACTICAL VALUE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PLANT-BASED PROTEIN FOODS AND MEETING THE PUBLIC DEMAND FOR AFFORDABLE AND SUSTAINABLE FERMENTED PROTEIN FOOD WITH OUTSTANDING HEALTH BENEFITS.