** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE US WHEAT INDUSTRY'S FUTURE HEAVILY DEPENDS UPON THE CULTIVARS OF HIGH PRODUCTIVITY, SUSTAINABILITY, AND MARKET COMPETITIVENESS, WHICH REQUIRES A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING GRAIN YIELD, GRAIN QUALITY, AND RESILIENCE TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS. IN THE MODEL PLANT ARABIDOPSIS, BIN2 IS ONE OF THE MOST NOTABLE GENES THAT REGULATES PLANT GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT, AND RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS. THIS PROJECT WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CLONED BIN2-LIKE GENE S1, ITS MUTATIONS, AND TRANSGENICS TO IDENTIFY THE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE S1-MEDIATED REGULATION NETWORK USING THE CUTTING-EDGE GENOMICS AND PROTEOMICS TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING WHEAT PRODUCTIVITY, QUALITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY WITH THREE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:1. FINE-TUNE S1 EXPRESSION DOSAGE,2. IDENTIFY S1-INTERACTING PROTEINS, AND3. IDENTIFY TABZR PARTNERS AND TARGETSTHE PROJECT WILL FIRST DETERMINE THE OPTIMAL DOSAGE OF THE S1 PROTEINS FOR AGRONOMIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL TRAITS BY TESTING A PANEL OF PLANTS WITH VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF THE S1 MUTATIONS AND MUTATIONS OF OTHER GRAIN REGULATORY GENES. MEANWHILE, THE PROJECT WILL SEEK TO IDENTIFY THE S1 PARTNERS AND DOWNSTREAM GENES PARTNERING WITH AND TARGETED BY BZR1, AN IMMEDIATE, MAJOR TARGET OF THE S1 PROTEIN FOR THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS.THE RESULTS FROM THIS PROJECT ARE EXPECTED TO BUILD A MUCH-NEEDED KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION AND DEVELOP A PACKAGE OF NOVEL GERMPLASM, TOOLS, AND RESOURCES NECESSARY FOR BREEDING HIGH-YIELDING, HIGH-QUALITY, AND DROUGHT-TOLERANT WHEAT CULTIVARS.