** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** TO MITIGATE PLANT EPIDEMICS, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE THREATS (PLANT PATHOGENS). THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON RALSTONIA PATHOGENS THAT CAUSE BACTERIAL WILT DISEASE ON CROPS THAT ARE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE AMERICAN DIET, INCLUDING POTATO, TOMATO, BANANA, AND PEANUT. THESE WILT PATHOGENS ARE COMPLEX ORGANISMS THAT PERSIST IN THE ENVIRONMENT FOR DECADES. MOREOVER, PATHOGENS HAVE GENETICALLY ENCODED VARIABILITY IN THEIR TRAITS. LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE POPULATION DIVERSITY OF RALSTONIA IN THE UNITED STATES NOR HOW THEY SURVIVE IN THE ENVIRONMENT.