** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** FLAVONOIDS ARE COMPOUNDS PLANTS PRODUCE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES AGAINST VARIOUS STRESSES THAT ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME MORE PROMINENT AS THE RESULT OF CLIMATE CHANGE. THIS INCLUDES ATTACK BY PATHOGENIC MICROBES, TEMPERATURE EXTREMES, AND UV RADIATION. SEVERAL FLAVONOIDS ARE ALSO OF INTEREST AS ANTI-CANCER DRUGS OR AS NUTRACEUTICALS - COMPOUNDS IN OUR FOOD THAT HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS ON HEALTH, FOR EXAMPLE BY SLOWING DOWN THE EFFECTS OF AGING OR REDUCING THE RISK OF OBESITY. OF SPECIAL INTEREST WITH RESPECT TO THE LATTER TWO APPLICATIONS ARE 3-DEOXYANTHOCYANIDINS (3-DOA), WHICH THE CERAL CROP SORGHUM, BUT NOT THE OTHER CEREALS (E.G. MAIZE, WHEAT), CAN SYNTHESIZE, BUT WHOSE BIOSYNTHESIS IS NOT YET FULLY UNDERSTOOD. WE PROPOSE A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF HOW SORGHUM PLANTS PRODUCE FLAVONOIDS, AS THE BASIS FOR THE TAILORED PRODUCTION OF BIO-ACTIVE COMPOUNDS, I.E. PLANTS THAT PRODUCE SPECIFIC FLAVONOIDS, AND IN GREATER QUANTITY. THIS APPROACH RELIES ON A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE ENZYMES INVOLVED IN FLAVONOID BIOSYNTHESIS TO FIGURE OUT THEIR EXACT MODE OF ACTION. AS A NEXT STEP, THEIR PROPERTIES CAN BE MODIFIED.