** 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 GRANT PROPOSAL AIMS TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF FRUIT DROP IN GROUNDCHERRY, A FRUIT CROP IN THE SOLANACEAE FAMILY THAT HAS GREAT POTENTIAL TO BE A NICHE PRODUCT IN THE FOOD MARKET. THE LACK OF WIDE-SPREAD CULTIVATION OF GROUNDCHERRY CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SEMI-DOMESTICATED NATURE CHARACTERIZED BY A SPRAWLING GROWTH HABIT AND HIGH RATES OF FRUIT DROP. EXCESSIVE FRUIT DROP CAN MAKE HARVESTING BOTH DIFFICULT AND TIME-CONSUMING, AND FRUIT ON THE GROUND CANNOT BE SOLD TO THE MARKET WHICH WOULD REDUCE PROFITS. FOR LARGE-SCALE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION TO BE REALISTIC, UNDERSTANDING THE BIOLOGY OF THE FRUIT DROP PROCESS AND CREATING IMPROVED GERMPLASM OF GROUNDCHERRY WITH REDUCED FRUIT DROP WILL HELP LESSEN LABOR INPUTS FOR HARVEST. THIS GRANT PROPOSES TO INVESTIGATE THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS THAT REGULATE THE FRUIT DROP PROCESS IN GROUNDCHERRY BY MODIFYING BOTH ABSCISSION ZONE (AZ) DEVELOPMENT AND CELL SEPARATION PROCESSES THROUGH CRISPR/CAS9 GENE EDITING TECHNIQUES. BY IDENTIFYING THE GENES INVOLVED IN AZ DEVELOPMENT AND CELL SEPARATION IN GROUNDCHERRY AND COMPARING THEM WITH ORTHOLOGS IN TOMATO, THE PROPOSAL AIMS TO CREATE IMPROVED GERMPLASM OF GROUNDCHERRY WITH REDUCED FRUIT DROP, AND BROADEN THE UNDERSTANDING OF FRUIT ABSCISSION ACROSS THE PLANT KINGDOM.