** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** SWEET POTATO IS A HIGHLY NUTRITIOUS CROP WITH AN ANNUAL US CULTIVATION OF OVER 3 BILLIONPOUNDS. ITS DIFFERENT CULTIVARS ARE RICH IN STARCH AS WELL AS MICRONUTRIENTS SUCH AS VITAMINS,MINERALS, CAROTENOIDS, FLAVONOIDS AND ANTHOCYANINS, WHICH MAKE IT VERY APPEALING AS A STAPLE CROP,IN VARIOUS PROCESSED FOODS SUCH AS PUREES, JUICES, PIES, CAKES, NOODLES AND CHIPS, IN THE FOODCOLORANT INDUSTRY, AS WELL AS IN HEALTH FOODS OWING TO ITS STRONG ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL. ITS GLOBALMARKET THUS IS HUGE (EST. &GT;$40 BILLION), WITH THE CROP CONTRIBUTING ~$700 MILLION TO THE US ECONOMY ALONE. SWEET POTATO IS HIGHLY DROUGHT RESISTANT AND IS KNOWN AS A CROP THAT SURVIVESWHEN OTHER CROPS FAIL, EVEN SURVIVING BOUTS OF FLOODING THAT DAMAGE OTHER CROPS. THIS CLIMATE RESILIENCY MAKES SWEET POTATO A CENTERPIECE OF HUNGER ELIMINATION AND NUTRITIONAL EQUALITY EFFORTSGLOBALLY, ADDING TO ITS VALUE TO HUMANITY. HOWEVER, THIS CROP IS THREATENED BY VARIOUS PESTS ANDDISEASES SUCH AS WEEVILS, WIREWORM, FLEA BEETLES, ROOT ROT NEMATODES AS WELL AS VARIOUS FUNGI,BACTERIA AND VIRUSES, REQUIRING HEAVY USE OF PESTICIDES IN MAJOR PRODUCTION AREAS. DUE TOCHANGING CLIMATE AND SPECIES RANGES OF PESTS AND PATHOGENS, IDENTIFYING HOW SWEET POTATO CAN BESUSTAINABLY SAFEGUARDED AGAINST THESE BIOTIC CHALLENGES IS A CRITICAL CHALLENGE.IN THIS RESEARCH, WE FOCUS ON A HYPER DIVERSE CLASS OF DEFENSE METABOLITES CALLED RESINGLYCOSIDES (RGS) THAT ARE UNIQUE TO SWEET POTATO AND ITS PARENT FAMILY CONVOLVULACEAE (MORNINGGLORIES). THIS FAMILY CONTAINS MANY POPULAR HORTICULTURAL SPECIES AS WELL AS DEVASTATING WEEDS SUCHAS BINDWEEDS, ALL OF WHICH PRODUCE RGS. SUBSTANTIAL PRIOR WORK, INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND OURPRELIMINARY RESULTS SUGGEST THAT RGS CAN BE EFFECTIVE GENERAL DETERRENCE AGAINST DAMAGE BY INSECTS,NEMATODES AS WELL AS FUNGI AND VIRUSES. OUR RECENT WORKDEFINED SUBSTANTIAL RG DIVERSITYWITHIN AND BETWEEN SPECIES, HOWEVER, THE BIOSYNTHETIC PATHWAY OF RGS IS COMPLETELY UNKNOWN.KNOWING THE BIOSYNTHETIC ENZYMES WILL NOT ONLY OPEN UP NEW GENETIC TARGETS FOR BREEDING OF PEST-RESISTANT SWEET POTATO VARIETIES BUT ALSO ENABLE ENGINEERING OF THIS TRAIT IN OTHER CROPS SUCH ASTOMATO. OUR PRELIMINARY RESULTS HAVE HIGHLIGHTED MULTIPLE ENZYME CANDIDATES. IN THIS RESEARCH, WE WILL (OBJ. 1) ASSESS THE NATURAL VARIATION OF RESIN GLYCOSIDES IN THE USDA SWEET POTATO GERMPLASMCOLLECTION (OBJ. 2) IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL RG BIOSYNTHETIC CANDIDATE GENES USING RNA-SEQ AND PROTEOMICS AND (OBJ. 3)VALIDATE CANDIDATE GENES IN RESIN GLYCOSIDE BIOSYNTHESIS USING FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS.OBTAINING THIS FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGEWILL PAVE THE WAY FOR MOLECULAR BREEDING AND CROP ENGINEERING. WEWILL ALSO SHARE RESULTS OF THIS RESEARCH WITH MAJOR BREEDING CENTERS IN NORTH CAROLINA, LOUISIANAAND OTHER STATES FOR TRANSLATING THE FINDINGS TO THE FIELD.