** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** OUR RESEARCH AIMS TO DEVELOP A NEW METHOD FOR PRODUCING HYBRID SEEDS IN WHEAT AND BARLEY, WHICH COULD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE YIELDS OF THESE IMPORTANT CEREAL CROPS. WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY DISCOVERED A GENETIC PATHWAY IN DURUM WHEAT THAT CAN INDUCE CONDITIONAL MALE STERILITY - THE INABILITY TO SELF-POLLINATE - WHEN DISRUPTED. THIS STERILITY CAN BE TRIGGERED BY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS LIKE DAY LENGTH OR TEMPERATURE. IN THIS PROJECT, WE WILL APPLY ADVANCED GENE EDITING (CRISPR) AND PLANT TRANSFORMATION TECHNIQUES TO DISABLE THE SAME KEY GENE IN DIVERSE VARIETIES OF BREAD WHEAT AND BARLEY. THIS SHOULD RENDER THE PLANTS MALE-STERILE UNDER CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, WHILE ALLOWING NORMAL FERTILITY UNDER PERMISSIVE CONDITIONS. WE WILL GROW THE GENETICALLY MODIFIED WHEAT AND BARLEY PLANTS AND EVALUATE THEIR MALE FERTILITY ACROSS DIFFERENT TEMPERATURE AND DAY LENGTH REGIMES. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO OPTIMIZE THE ENVIRONMENTAL TRIGGERS FOR SWITCHING BETWEEN MALE-STERILE AND FERTILE STATES. IN-DEPTH ANALYSES WILL EXAMINE THE DEVELOPMENTAL IMPACTS IN THE PLANT'S ANTHERS (POLLEN-PRODUCING STRUCTURES) RESULTING FROM THIS GENETIC DISRUPTION. THE RESEARCH TEAM HAS EXPERTISE SPANNING SMALL RNAS, PLANT GENOMICS, REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY, ANTHER DEVELOPMENT, AND HYBRID SEED PRODUCTION METHODS. PRELIMINARY DATA SUGGESTS THIS INNOVATIVE APPROACH IS FEASIBLE ACROSS DIVERSE CROP VARIETIES. IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS ENVIRONMENTALLY-CONTROLLED MALE STERILITY SYSTEM COULD ENABLE WIDESPREAD HYBRID SEED PRODUCTION FOR WHEAT AND BARLEY. THIS COULD BOOST YIELDS BY AT LEAST 15% - REPRESENTING MILLIONS OF TONS OF ADDITIONAL GRAIN PRODUCED USING THE SAME AGRICULTURAL INPUTS AND LAND AREA. IN SUMMARY, WE AIM TO LEVERAGE A NEWLY DISCOVERED GENETIC PATHWAY TO DEVELOP A ROBUST TECHNOLOGY FOR HYBRID WHEAT AND BARLEY PRODUCTION, UNLOCKING SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL YIELD INCREASES FOR THESE GLOBALLY IMPORTANT CEREAL CROPS.