**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY IS KEYTO DEVELOPING FOODS, FUELS, FABRICS, AND BUILDING MATERIALS THAT WILL HELP US ADAPT TO AND MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE. PLANTS CAN BE ENGINEERED TO RESIST DROUGHT AND DISEASE; TO PRODUCE PHARMACEUTICALS AND OTHER VALUABLE BIOPRODUCTS; AND TO REPLACE INDUSTRIAL INPUTSCURRENTLY DERIVED FROM PETROLEUM.HOWEVER, MOST GENETICALLY ENGINEERED PLANTS CURRENTLY SUFFER FROM A SERIOUS PROBLEM. THEVERSIONS OF GENES THAT WE INSERT INTO PLANTS OFTEN BECOME SILENCEDOVER TIME, SO THAT THEY NO LONGER PRODUCE ANYTHING USEFUL. MOREOVER, IT IS VERY COSTLY AND TIME-CONSUMINGTO STACK MULTIPLE ENGINEERED TRAITS INTO A SINGLE PLANT VARIETY. IF WE COULD DEVISE A WAY TO TRANSFORM PLANTS WITH SEVERAL GENES AT ONCE, THIS WOULD STREAMLINE THE ABILITY OF AMERICAN AGRICULTURALCOMPANIES TO DEVELOP USEFUL AND PROFITABLE NEW CROP VARIETIES. ACHIEVING THAT END IS THE FOCUS OF THIS RESEARCH.THE PROJECT SEEKS TO DISCOVER GENETIC INSULATORS, WHICH ARE DNA SEQUENCES THAT LIE IN BETWEEN GENES TO IMPROVETHEIR BEHAVIOR. INSULATORS HAVE TWO MAIN BENEFITS. FIRST, THEY ENSURE THAT GENES ARE PROPERLY REGULATED, THAT IS, TURNED ON OR OFF IN THE CORRECT PART(S) OF THE PLANT. SECOND, THEY SERVE AS A GENETIC BUFFER,SO THAT THE GENES PRODUCE A CONSISTENT PRODUCTNO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE INSERTED IN THE GENOME. WEWILL USE NEXT-GENERATION DNA SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGY TO SCREEN MANY THOUSANDS OF POTENTIAL INSULATORS. USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNIQUES, WE WILL BUILD A COMPUTER MODEL OF INSULATION IN PLANTS. WE WILL ALSO TEST OUR DESIGNS IN LIVE PLANTS OVER SEVERAL GENERATIONS TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE INSULATOR SEQUENCES PERFORM AS INTENDED. IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS WORK WILL SOLVE A LONGSTANDING ISSUE IN BIOTECHNOLOGY, WHICH IN TURN WILL BENEFIT AMERICAN COMPANIES, FARMERS, AND CONSUMERS OF STAPLECROPS INCLUDING CORN, SOY, AND COTTON. THE PROJECT ALSO FUNDS HANDS-ON TRAINING AND MENTORSHIP FORCOLLEGE STUDENTS IN THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, FACILITATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGHLY SKILLED AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE.