← LeaderboardsInvestigatorsiAttributed = a PI's even-split share of each grant — a $1M grant with 2 PIs counts $500K each.
Agricultural Research Service
DC
$101,879,973
Total funding
410
Grants
Funding over time
peak $9.3M · FY2009–25$10M$7.5M$5M$2.5M$0
'09
'10
'11
'12
'13
'14
'15
'16
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24
'25
Funding mix
By agency
USDA$101,763,573 · 409
NSF$116,400 · 1
By mechanism
—$101,879,973 · 410
Investigators at Agricultural Research Service
InvestigatorsiAttributed = a PI's even-split share of each grant — a $1M grant with 2 PIs counts $500K each.
Exposure= the full size of every grant they're on ($1M each).
Rising Stars
First grant in the last 5 yrs
Not enough data
Emerging Leaders
6–10 yrs in
Not enough data
All-Time
Most funded here, all years
Not enough data
Largest grants
**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 MAINTAIN HUMAN AND ANIMAL HEALTH, IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW PATHOGENS LIKE VIRUSES ARE TRANSMITTED AND EVOLVE TO HIGHER VIRULENCE. THIS KNOWLEDGE IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR SUSTAINABLE DISEASE CONTROL, PARTICULARLY REGARDING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BIOSECURITY, GENETIC SELECTION, AND VACCINATION. THUS, IT IS NECESSARY TO COLLECT, ASSEMBLE, AND ANALYZE HIGHLY INFORMATIVE AS WELL AS DIVERSE BUT COMPLEMENTARY DATASETS TO DETERMINE THE ROLES OF THESE CONTROL MEASURES ON VIRAL TRANSMISSION AND EVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS. IN THIS PROJECT, AN INTERNATIONAL, INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM INVESTIGATES THE IMPACT OF THESE APPROACHES ON THE SPREAD AND EVOLUTION OF TWO AVIAN PATHOGENIC VIRUSES - MAREK'S DISEASE VIRUS (MDV) AND INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS VIRUS (IBV) - BOTH OF WHICH ARE PRIMARILY CONTROLLED BY IMPERFECT VACCINES. IT HAS BEEN ARGUED THAT IMPERFECT VACCINES, SUCH AS THOSE TO MDV AND IBV, OR HOST GENETIC RESISTANCE MAY ALTER THE BALANCE OF SELECTION BETWEEN PATHOGEN TRANSMISSIONAND VIRULENCE BY ALLOWING A FEW MORE DIVERGENT BUT STILL VIRULENT STRAINS TO BE TRANSMITTED AT REDUCED COST. HOWEVER, THESE HYPOTHESES HAVE NOT BEEN PROVEN, AND PREDICTIVE FRAMEWORKS ARE LACKING TO DETERMINE THE COMBINED INFLUENCE OF HOST AND VIRAL GENETICS, AS WELL AS VACCINATION ON VIRAL TRANSMISSION AND EVOLUTION TO INCREASED VIRULENCE. TO ADDRESS THESE KNOWLEDGE GAPS, A SERIES OF TRANSMISSION EXPERIMENTS HAVE BEEN DESIGNED UTILIZING UNIQUE RESOURCES AND DATA FROM BIRDS UNDER HIGHLY CONTROLLED CONDITIONS. THE GOALS OF THE PROPOSED WORK ARE TO COLLECT HIGH-RESOLUTION, EMPIRICAL DATASETS TO BUILD THE NEXT GENERATION OF SYSTEMS MODELS INCORPORATING HOST, VIRAL, AND MANAGEMENT FACTORS, AS WELL AS TO ESTABLISH THE ROLE OF VIRAL GENOME VARIABILITY ON VIRULENCE EVOLUTION. FURTHERMORE, WE WILL PREDICT THE COMBINED INFLUENCE OF GENETICS, VACCINATION, AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON VIRUS TRANSMISSION, AND ASSESS THE LIKELY EVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS IN DIFFERENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC SETTINGS.$1,717,083
· FY2021 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE (AMR) IS A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM IN HEALTH CARE, ANIMAL HEALTH, AND FOOD SAFETY. TO LIMITAMR, THERE IS A NEED FOR ALTERNATIVES TO ANTIBIOTICS TO ENHANCE DISEASE RESISTANCE AND SUPPORT JUDICIOUSANTIBIOTIC USAGE IN ANIMALS AND HUMANS. MUCH LIKE HUMANS, NEONATAL AND JUVENILE FOOD ANIMALS ARE PARTICULARLYSUSCEPTIBLE TO DISEASE, AND METHODS TO ENHANCE DISEASE RESISTANCE IN FOOD ANIMALS WOULD BE DIRECTLYBENEFICIAL AND INFORMATIVE FOR ENHANCING HUMAN HEALTH. IMMUNOMODULATION IS A PROMISING METHOD TO ENHANCEDISEASE RESISTANCE AND PROMOTE ANTIBIOTIC STEWARDSHIP. ONE RAPIDLY EVOLVING FIELD OF IMMUNOMODULATION ISINNATE MEMORY (OR INNATE TRAINING), WHICH RELIES ON CELLULAR EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS THAT LEAD TO A HEIGHTENED(IE, TRAINED) RESPONSE FOLLOWING REPEATED MICROBIAL STIMULATION OF INNATE IMMUNE CELLS. OUR OVERALL GOAL IS TOUTILIZE INNATE TRAINING AS AN APPROACH TO ENHANCE DISEASE RESISTANCE IN A MANNER THAT IS HIGHLY RELEVANT TO BOTHAGRICULTURE AND BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. WE WILL TEST A COMPOUND SHOWN TO BE SAFE IN ANIMALS AND HUMANS FOR IT'S ABILITY TO PROTECT PIGS AND CATTLE AGAINST DISEASES COMMON TO EACH INDUSTRY.$1,650,000
· FY2020 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** AVIAN INFLUENZA VIRUSES (AIV) ARE ENDEMIC IN CERTAIN WILD BIRD POPULATIONS, AND FROM THERE, SPILL OVER INTO DOMESTIC BIRDS AND HUMAN POPULATIONS WHERE THEY CAUSE OUTBREAKS OF SEVERE DISEASE. SOME STRAINS OF AIV POSE A GREATER THREAT THAN OTHERS, BECAUSE OF A COMBINATION OF THEIR PATHOGENICITY, GEOGRAPHIC AND HOST RANGE; EXEMPLIFIED IN RECENT YEARS BY FOUR MAJOR INCURSIONS OF H5 AND H7 SUBTYPE VIRUSES. SURVEILLANCE BACKED UP BY LABORATORY ASSESSMENT OF THESE TRAITS UNDERPIN ATTEMPTS TO RISK ASSESS AND PREDICT BEHAVIOUR OF A HIGHLY MUTABLE VIRUS. THIS SURVEILLANCE EFFORT, COUPLED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGY HAS LED TO AN EXPONENTIAL RISE INTHE AMOUNT OF VIRAL SEQUENCE DATA, BOTH AT CONSENSUS LEVEL AND (VIA NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING [NGS]) AT QUASI-SPECIES LEVEL. IN PARALLEL, RECENT ADVANCES IN PHYLODYNAMIC MODELLING TECHNIQUES (INCLUDING STRUCTURED COALESCENTS, MULTI-SPECIES BIRTH-DEATH MODELS AND INTEGRATION OF TIME-DEPENDENT PREDICTORS IN GENERALISED LINEAR MODEL PHYLOGEOGRAPHIC APPROACHES HAVE PROVIDED METHODS TO FULLY USE THIS WEALTH OF DATA. ACCORDINGLY, WE HYPOTHESISE THAT, FOR THE FIRST TIME, PROPERLY PARAMETERISED MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF VIRAL EVOLUTION WITH GENUINEPREDICTIVE VALUE CAN NOW BE CONSTRUCTED. WE WILL GENERATE THESE MODELS AND PRODUCE SPREAD AND HOST RANGE RISK MAPS FOR SPECIFIC AIV STRAINS THAT CAN BE USED TO INFORM VACCINATION AND OTHER CONTROL STRATEGIES.$1,000,000
· FY2021 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
SORGHUM IS AN ATTRACTIVE BIOENERGY CROP WITH HIGH YIELD POTENTIALS AND SIGNIFICANT TOLERANCE TO DROUGHT AND HEAT. HOWEVER, SORGHUM IS PRONE TO STALK ROTS, WHICH CAN SIGNIFICANTLY LIMIT SORGHUM BIOMASS PRODUCTION THROUGH YIELD REDUCTIONS AND LODGING. STALK ROT-CAUSING FUNGI NORMALLY GROW ENDOPHYTICALLY WITHIN SORGHUM PLANTS. WHEN SORGHUM PLANTS EXPERIENCE WATER STRESS, CHANGES IN HOST METABOLISM OFTEN TRIGGERS A DEVELOPMENTAL SWITCH CAUSING THE FUNGI TO BECOME PATHOGENIC. THE UNDERLYING PLANT MOLECULAR CIRCUITS THAT CAN LIMIT OR EXACERBATE FUNGAL TRANSITION FROM ENDOPHYTIC TO PATHOGENIC GROWTH ARE NOT KNOWN AND ARE THE FOCUS OF THIS PROPOSAL. SEVERAL PUBLICLY AVAILABLE LINES HAVE PREVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATED RESISTANCE OR TOLERANCE TO SORGHUM STALK PATHOGENS, INCLUDING THOSE WITH POSTFLOWERING DROUGHT TOLERANCE (NONSENSCENCE), WHICH APPEARS TO SUPPRESS PATHOGENIC GROWTH. IN ADDITION, WE HAVE DEVELOPED SEVERAL NEAR-ISOGENIC SORGHUM BROWN-MIDRIB (BMR) 6 AND 12 LINES WITH REDUCED LIGNIN CONTENT, WHICH WERE PREVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATED TO HAVE INCREASED RESISTANCE OR TOLERANCE TO SORGHUM STALK PATHOGENS. LIGNIN, A COMPONENT OF PLANT CELL WALLS, HAS BEEN A FOCUS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF BIOENERGY SORGHUMS BECAUSE IT INHIBITS CELLULOSIC CONVERSION TECHNOLOGIES, BUT ITS PRESENCE ALSO INCREASES TOTAL ENERGY CONTENT OF BIOMASS, WHICH IS IMPORTANT FOR THERMAL CONVERSION TECHNOLOGIES. TO INCREASE ENERGY CONTENT, WE HAVE ENGINEERED SORGHUM PLANTS OVEREXPRESSING A MYB TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR THAT INDUCES LIGNIN SYNTHESIS, AND A GENE ENCODING CAFFEOYL-COA O-METHYLTRANSFERASE (CCOAOMT), A MONOLIGNOL PATHWAY ENZYME. BOTH THE TRANSGENIC AND BMR PLANTS ACCUMULATE PHENOLIC INTERMEDIATES FROM LIGNIN SYNTHESIS THAT ARE TOXIC TO STALK PATHOGENS IN VITRO. WE RECENTLY HAVE DEVELOPED THE ABILITY TO APPLY WATER-STRESS IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT, WHICH RELIABLY INDUCES THE DEVELOPMENTAL SWITCH FROM ENDOPHYTIC TO PATHOGENIC GROWTH OF SORGHUM STALK ROT FUNGI. USING THIS UNIQUE COLLECTION OF PLANT LINES DESCRIBED ABOVE, IN COMBINATION WITH GENOMICS AND METABOLOMICS TOOLS, WE WILL DIRECTLY EVALUATE THE HYPOTHESIS THAT "IDENTIFYING MOLECULAR COMPONENTS OF HOST RESISTANCE WILL LEAD TO INCREASED STALK ROT TOLERANCE IN SORGHUM", USING TWO NOTORIOUSLY VIRULENT FUNGI THAT CAUSE SORGHUM STALK ROTS, FUSARIUM THAPSINUM AND MACROPHOMINA PHASEOLINA. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROPOSAL ARE: 1) TO DETERMINE PATHOGENIC AND ENDOPHYTIC GROWTH OF STALK PATHOGENS IN SORGHUM LINES UNDER WATER DEFICIT CONDITIONS; 2) TO IDENTIFY HOST METABOLITES AND METABOLIC PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN RESISTANCE OR TOLERANCE TO FUNGAL STALK ROT PATHOGENS UNDER WATER DEFICIT CONDITIONS IN LIGNIN MODIFIED, NONSENESCENT AND STALK ROT RESISTANT/TOLERANT LINES; 3) TO IDENTIFY HOST GENES FROM THE PHENYLPROPANOID AND DEFENSE-RELATED PATHWAYS WITH ALTERED EXPRESSION LEVELS DURING PATHOGENIC OR ENDOPHYTIC GROWTH OF FUNGAL STALK PATHOGENS UNDER WATER DEFICIT CONDITIONS; AND 4) TO IDENTIFY GENES, GENE NETWORKS, AND METABOLIC PATHWAYS WHOSE EXPRESSION IS ALTERED IN STALK ROT TOLERANT SORGHUM LINES UNDER WATER SUFFICIENT VERSUS DEFICIT CONDITIONS. OUR AIM IS TO DISCOVER HOST MOLECULAR PATHWAYS THAT ENHANCE ENDOPHYTIC GROWTH OF STALK FUNGI AND INHIBIT THE DEVELOPMENTAL SWITCH TO PATHOGENIC GROWTH THAT FREQUENTLY OCCURS UNDER PERIODS OF PROLONGED ABIOTIC STRESS. FROM THIS VALUABLE RESEARCH, WE WILL IDENTIFY BIOMOLECULAR MARKERS FOR RESISTANCE THAT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE EFFORTS TO DEVELOP SUPERIOR BIOENERGY SORGHUM WITH RESISTANCE TO INCREASING DISEASE AND ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSES.$1,000,000
· FY2016 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
PLANT OILS REPRESENT AN OUTSTANDING POTENTIAL SOURCE OF ENERGY-DENSE HYDROCARBONS THAT CAN BE USED FOR FUELS AND INDUSTRIAL RAW MATERIALS, BUT A MAJOR CHALLENGE IS TO PRODUCE THESE OILS IN NON-FOOD OILSEED CROPS THAT HAVE HIGH YIELDS AND CAN GROW UNDER MARGINAL AND VARIED CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. IN RECENT YEARS, CAMELINA SATIVA HAS RECEIVED CONSIDERABLE ATTENTION AS A POTENTIAL NON-FOOD BIOFUELS CROP, BUT SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES REMAIN TO DEVELOP STABLE, HIGH-YIELDING, GEOGRAPHICALLY ADAPTED GERMPLASM SUITABLE FOR BIOFUELS PRODUCTION. WE WILL UTILIZE ADVANCED HIGH-THROUGHPUT PHENOTYPING AND GENOMICS-BASED APPROACHES TO DISCOVER USEFUL GENE/ALLELES CONTROLLING SEED YIELD AND OIL CONTENT AND QUALITY IN CAMELINA UNDER WATER-LIMITED CONDITIONS, AND WILL IDENTIFY HIGH-YIELDING CULTIVARS SUITABLE FOR PRODUCTION IN DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS. THE PROJECT INCLUDES THREE PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: 1) DEVELOP AND APPLY AUTOMATED, NON-DESTRUCTIVE HIGH-THROUGHPUT PHENOTYPING (HTP) PROTOCOLS TO EVALUATE THE PHENOTYPIC DIVERSITY AND STRESS TOLERANCE OF A CAMELINA PANEL CONSISTING OF 250 ACCESSIONS, GROWN UNDER WELL-WATERED AND WATER-LIMITED CONDITIONS. 2) DISCOVER ALLELES/GENES CONTROLLING MORPHOLOGICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL, SEED, AND OIL YIELD PROPERTIES USING GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES (GWAS). 3) IDENTIFY, TEST, AND VALIDATE USEFUL GERMPLASM, INCLUDING TRANSGENIC LINES PRODUCING DROP-IN READY JET FUEL COMPONENTS, UNDER DIVERSE ENVIRONMENTS AND MARGINAL PRODUCTION AREAS. TAKEN TOGETHER, THIS PROJECT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ADVANCE THE UTILIZATION OF NON-FOOD OILSEED CROPS FOR BIOFUEL PRODUCTION AND PROVIDE GUIDANCE AND INSIGHT FOR FUTURE STUDIES OF PHENOMICS-BASED CROP IMPROVEMENT.$1,000,000
· FY2016 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A UNIVERSAL PLANT VIRUS MICROARRAY FOR DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION OF PLANT VIRUSES$999,735
· FY2009 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
FOSTERING COEXISTENCE: INDUSTRY-DRIVEN FIELD AND LANDSCAPE RESEARCH ON POLLEN-MEDIATED GENE FLOW IN GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ALFALFA$992,760
· FY2011 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
**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 ACCELERATING EVOLUTION OF HERBICIDE RESISTANCE IN NUMEROUS WEED SPECIES THREATENS GAINS IN SOIL HEALTH AND CARBON STORAGE AS FARMERS RETURN TO INTENSIVE TILLAGE FOR WEED MANAGEMENT. COVER CROPS ARE A POWERFUL TOOL FOR SUPPRESSING WEEDS IN NO-TILL SOYBEAN PRODUCTION AND IMPROVING SOIL HEALTH. HOWEVER, MANAGING COVER CROPS FOR WEED SUPPRESSION IS INHERENTLY COMPLICATED BY HIGH SPATIAL VARIABILITY IN COVER CROP PERFORMANCE AND WEED POPULATIONS. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO AID FARMERS IN THEIR USE OF COVER CROPS, AT THE PRODUCTION SCALE, AS PART OF AN INTEGRATED WEED MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. WE WILL DEVELOP SENSING TECHNOLOGY FOR MAPPING AND MONITORING COVER CROP AND WEED SPECIES AND BIOMASS THAT ASSISTS SOYBEAN FARMERS IN PLANNING AND DECISION MAKING. PLANTMAP3D, AN INTEGRATED HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SOLUTION FOR PLANT SPECIES, DENSITY, AND BIOMASS MAPPING, WILL BE DEPLOYED IN FIVE MAJOR SOYBEAN PRODUCING STATES. WE WILL COLLECT DATA ON THE IMPACT OF CEREAL RYE COVER CROP BIOMASS ON WEED POPULATIONS AND ELUCIDATE HOW FIELD PRODUCTIVITY ZONES INFLUENCE WEED SUPPRESSION WITH COVER CROPS. TO ACCELERATE APPLICABILITY OF THE TECHNOLOGY, WE WILL ITERATIVELY IMPROVE THE PLANTMAP3D SYSTEM FOR PRODUCTION USE BY CONDUCTING USER-TESTING WITH FARMER PARTNERS AND ADDITIONAL STAKEHOLDERS ON THEIR USER EXPERIENCE. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES NIFA AND USB PRIORITIES BY DEVELOPING LOW-COST PRECISION TOOLS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION FOR OPTIMIZING COVER CROP MANAGEMENT FOR WEED SUPPRESSION AND SOIL HEALTH AND IS SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO USB COMMODITY TOPIC #12. THIS PROPOSAL IS SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO A SINGLE SPECIFIC COMMODITY BOARD TOPIC LISTED ABOVE.$980,000
· FY2024 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
**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 PROJECT AIMS AT ENHANCING BOTH AGRONOMIC AND END-USE QUALITY TRAITS OF ORGANIC DRY BEANS THROUGH PLANT BREEDING AND DEVELOPING VALUE-ADDED BEAN PRODUCTS USING ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY AND SUSTAINABLE PROCESSING AND PACKAGING. ORGANIC BEAN FARMERS FACE PRODUCTION CHALLENGES, ESPECIALLY SEEDLING VIGOR AND HARVESTABILITY THAT DIRECTLY IMPACT THE BEAN QUALITY FOR END-USERS. BOTH THE PRODUCTION AND END-USE CHARACTERISTICS CAN BE ADDRESSED THROUGH GENETIC IMPROVEMENT, AND BY CONSIDERING BOTH TOGETHERIN A BREEDING PROGRAM, NEW CULTIVARS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE ADOPTED BY FARMERS AND APPEAL TO CONSUMERS. WHILE DRY BEANS ARE NUTRIENT-RICH, THE PER CAPITA U.S. CONSUMPTION REMAINS LOW. THEREFORE, DEVELOPING APPEALING VALUE-ADDED BEAN PRODUCTS IN READILY-RECYCLABLE AND CONVENIENT PACKAGING SHOULD GO HAND-IN-HAND WITH BREEDING EFFORTS TO FURTHER ENSURE ADOPTION. WE PROPOSE TO BREED IMPROVED VARIETIES AND DEVELOP ORGANIC BEAN PRODUCTS OF HIGHER QUALITY, WHICH ARE READY-TO-EAT, HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLY PROCESSED. OUR SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ARE TO 1) BREED DRY BEAN FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTION AND END-USE QUALITY. 2) DEVELOP VALUE-ADDED ORGANIC BEAN PRODUCTS USING SUSTAINABLE PROCESSING AND PACKAGING. 3) SENSORY EVALUATION, ASSESSMENT OF CONSUMER PREFERENCES AND MARKETING POTENTIAL OF VALUE-ADDED ORGANIC BEAN PRODUCTS. 4) EVALUATE PACKAGE PERFORMANCE OF POUCHES AND MICROWAVE STEAMABLE BAGS FOR BEANS. 5) DISSEMINATE OF PROJECT RESULTS THROUGH INTERACTIVE CROP AND PRODUCT EVALUATIONS.$968,991
· FY2024 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
PLANT DISEASES ARE AMONG THE GREATEST CONSTRAINTS TO CROP PRODUCTION WORLDWIDE. PATHOGENIC FUNGI, OOMYCETES, VIRUSES, BACTERIA, INSECTS, AND NEMATODES NEGATIVELY IMPACT AGRONOMIC AND HORTICULTURAL CROPS, AS WELL AS COMMERCIAL AND RECREATIONAL FORESTS. DESPITE THESE CONTINUAL THREATS, A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF THE REGULATORY PROGRAMS THAT RENDER A PLANT RESISTANT TO PATHOGENS HAS YET TO EMERGE, ESPECIALLY IN SMALL-GRAIN TEMPERATE CEREAL CROPS THAT ARE VITAL TO FOOD SECURITY AND THE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY. THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE BARLEY-POWDERY MILDEW, HOST-MICROBE INTERACTION AND BUILDS ON RESOURCES ESTABLISHED WITH PREVIOUS FEDERAL FUNDS TO EXAMINE THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING MOLECULAR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN DISEASE AGENTS AND THEIR HOSTS.AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM HAS BEEN ASSEMBLED WITH OUTSTANDING EXPERTISE IN CEREAL GENOMICS, HOST-MICROBE INTERACTIONS, BIOINFORMATICS, AND EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH. THE PROJECT WILL UTILIZE BOTH COMPUTATIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL APPROACHES TO INVESTIGATE THE TIME-DEPENDENT AND DEVELOPMENTAL CONTROL OF RESISTANCE TO FUNGAL PATHOGENS. THIS RESEARCH WILL RESULT IN A DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF PATHOGEN-INDUCED MECHANISMS OF DEFENSE ACTIVATION AND PROVIDE NEW TARGETS FOR MOLECULAR BREEDING, RESULTING IN DISEASE RESISTANT CROPS.IN ADDITION, THE PROJECT WILL PROMOTE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND DISSEMINATION TO A BROAD AUDIENCE, WHILE DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF AGRICULTURAL AND COMPUTATIONAL SCIENTISTS. TRANSFORMATIVE RESULTS FROM THIS RESEARCH WILL BE USED TO CRAFT MULTI-LEVEL CASE STUDIES FOR GENETICS AND BIOLOGY COURSES AND THUS, DELIVER BROAD EXPOSURE ON THE IMPACT OF PLANT PATHOGENS TO FOOD SECURITY. TO COMPLEMENT THESE BASIC RESEARCH ACTIVITIES, THE PROJECT WILL ESTABLISH IPATH, A SET OF INQUIRY-BASED CLASSROOM EXERCISES AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR TEACHERS TO EDUCATE SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ON THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN GENES, PHENOTYPES AND PLANT DISEASE. ADDITIONAL EMPHASIS TO REACH UNDER-REPRESENTED GROUPS AND FIRST-GENERATION STUDENTS WILL BE ACHIEVED VIA INTEGRATION WITH SCIENCE BOUND ON THE IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, PRESENTATION OF NEW ITAG/IPATH CONCEPTS AT CONFERENCES FOR MINORITIES IN AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES AND RELATED SCIENCES (MANNRS) AND ADVANCING CHICANOS/HISPANICS & NATIVE AMERICANS IN SCIENCE (SACNAS) TO ENSURE THE LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT OF A DIVERSE, GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE STEM WORKFORCE. RAPID PUBLIC ACCESS WILL BE ADVANCED BY INTEGRATION OF PROJECT DATA INTO NCBI-GEO, COUPLED WITH VISUALIZATION VIA THE GENOME BROWSERS AT THE GRAINGENES DATABASE FOR TRITICEAE AND AVENA.$815,500
· FY2020 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
MITIGATING INSECT HERBIVORY OF WARM-SEASON BIOENERGY GRASSES - GETTING AHEAD OF THE CURVE$798,193
· FY2012 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** PARTNERSHIP: CHARACTERIZING FORMULA-FED VEAL AND DAIRY BEEF CALF WELFARE THROUGH AUDITS AND INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT$797,900
· FY2023 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
THE IMPACTS OF LIGNIN MODIFICATION ON FUNGAL PATHOGEN AND INSECT INTERACTIONS IN SORGHUM FOR CELLULOSIC AND THERMAL BIOENERGY$778,504
· FY2012 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
IDENTIFYING PORCINE GENES AND GENE NETWORKS INVOLVED IN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO PRRS VIRUS USING FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS AND SYSTEMS BIOLOGY.$749,975
· FY2010 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYTHERE ARE CURRENTLY NO INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM) STRATEGIES FOR A. APIS INFECTIONS, OR CHALKBROOD, WHICH ARE ROOTED IN SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE. EXTENSION AGENTS AND APIARY INSPECTORS DO NOT HAVE SCIENCE-BASED STRATEGIES TO RECOMMEND WHEN BEEKEEPERS ENCOUNTER CHALKBROOD IN THEIR OPERATIONS. THIS MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR BEEKEEPERS TO EFFECTIVELY ADDRESS DISEASE OUTBREAKS WITHIN THEIR OWN APIARIES, THUS LEADING TO FRUSTRATION, ECONOMIC LOSS, AND COLONY DEATH. THE RESULTS FROM OUR PROPOSED WORK WILL ALLOW US TO COMMUNICATE CHALKBROOD IPM STRATEGIES WHICH ARE QUANTIFIABLY EFFECTIVE IN PREVENTING AND TREATING CHALKBROOD. BY FORMING A VARIETY OF IPM STRATEGIES, WE ARE FOLLOWING BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE DISEASE MANAGEMENT WITHIN OUR CROP SYSTEM AND ULTIMATELY GENERATING A HOLISTIC TOOLKIT FOR OUR BEEKEEPING STAKEHOLDERS.A. APIS, ALTHOUGH A GLOBAL HONEY BEE PARASITE, IS CURRENTLY UNDERSTUDIED IN THE U.S. WHICH GIVES US AMPLE KNOWLEDGE GAPS TO FILL. UNDERSTANDING WHAT MAKES SOME GROUPS IN A SINGLE HONEY BEE POPULATION MORE RESISTANT THAN OTHERS IS SCIENTIFICALLY VALUABLE AND HAS WIDE APPLICABILITY TO OTHER DISEASES AND PESTS WITHIN SOCIAL INSECTS. A. APIS SURPRISINGLY SEEMS TO HAVE FEW CONSISTENT RESPONSES GLOBALLY, WHICH MAY INDICATE DIFFERENTIAL VIRULENCE OF DIFFERENT STRAINS OR VARIANCE IN RESPONSES OF DIFFERENT HONEY BEES POPULATIONS. OUR WORK WOULD BOTH FILL SEVERAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS AS WELL AS GENERATE PROMISING AREAS OF FUTURE STUDY, SUCH AS SEEING IF DIFFERENT STRAINS OF A. APIS ARE EQUALLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO OUR TREATMENT METHODS, AND IDENTIFYING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH SOCIAL IMMUNITY BEHAVIORS IN RESPONSE TO A. APIS INFECTION.ADDITIONALLY, BY INCORPORATING FUTURE AND CURRENT CAREER SCIENTISTS INTO THIS PROJECT, WE ARE HELPING TO BOTH GENERATE SCIENTIFIC AND STAKEHOLDER-CENTERED INFORMATION, AS WELL AS TRAINING FUTURE PEERS TO COMMUNICATE THEIR FINDINGS WIDELY WHICH IS IMPORTANT TO STEM AND TO SOCIETY. WE ULTIMATELY PROPOSE A THOROUGH DISSEMINATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE THROUGH BOTH SCIENTIFICALLY PEER-REVIEWED AND STAKEHOLDER-CENTERED AVENUES, PUTTING THIS INFORMATION INTO THE HANDS OF THE BEEKEEPERS WHO NEED IT MOST.$749,891
· FY2024 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
**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 SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE (HETERODERA GLYCINES; SCN) IS ONE OF THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE AND DIFFICULT TO MANAGE ROOT PATHOGENS OF SOYBEAN. SOILS UNDER NO-TILLAGE AND LONG-TERM SOYBEAN MONOCULTURE HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO SUPPRESS AND MAINTAIN LOW LEVELS OF THIS PATHOGEN IN SOIL. ALTHOUGH SOME BACTERIA AND FUNGI HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED FROM THESE SOILS, WHICH SPECIES ARE INVOLVED IN SUPPRESSION AND HOW THEY CONTROL NEMATODE LEVELS IN SOIL ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. COMBINATIONS OF NEMATODE PARASITIC MICROBES HAVE OFTEN SHOWN GREATER EFFICACY THAN INDIVIDUAL SPECIES, DUE IN PART TO INTERACTIONS OF MICROBES IN THE SOIL. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF MICROBIAL SPECIES INTERACTIONS INVOLVED IN SUPPRESSING THE SCN. USING HIGH-THROUGHPUT GENOME SEQUENCING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF GENES HIGHLY EXPRESSED IN SUPPRESSIVE SOILS, WE WILL IDENTIFY KEY TAXA, SPECIES INTERACTIONS, GENES, AND METABOLITES IN SCN SUPPRESSIVE SOILS. USING COMPUTER NETWORK MODELLING, WE WILL ANALYZE THIS DATA TO IDENTIFY INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MICROBIAL SPECIES THAT MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR NEMATODE SUPPRESSION. FINALLY, BASED ON THESE RESULTS, WE WILL SELECT AND TEST COMBINATIONS OF SEVERAL MICROBIAL SPECIES IN PLANT BIOASSAYS FOR THEIR ABILITY TO CONTROL THE SCN. THIS RESEARCH WILL ADVANCE THE USE OF MICROBES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ECOLOGICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY SUSTAINABLE CONTROL OF THE SCN.$749,694
· FY2021 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
GENOMIC RESOURCES TO ACCELERATE WESTERN CORN ROOTWORM RESEARCH$749,597
· FY2009 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** HEMP (CANNABIS SATIVA L.) IS GROWN FOR ESSENTIAL OIL, SEED, AND FIBER PRODUCTION. GERMPLASM WITH SUPERIOR AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE COMBINED WITH DISEASE RESISTANCE IS REQUIRED TO IMPROVE HEMP YIELDS AND PRODUCT QUALITY. THIS PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON THE EVALUATION OF GENETICALLY AND GEOGRAPHICALLY DIVERSE HEMP GENETIC RESOURCES FROM THE USDA ARS PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES UNIT HEMP GERMPLASM REPOSITORY FOR RESISTANCE TO FOUR DISEASES IMPORTANT TO HEMP INDUSTRY. AT LEAST 100 HEMP ACCESSIONS WILL BE TESTED YEARLY IN RANDOMIZED, REPLICATED AND INOCULATED FIELD TRIALS FOR: 1) FUSARIUM HEAD BLIGHT, 2) POWDERY MILDEW, 3) SEPTORIA LEAF SPOT, AND 4) DOWNY MILDEW. FUSARIUM HEAD BLIGHT TOLERANCE WILL BE EVALUATED IN FIELD TRIALS IN LEXINGTON, KY. POWDERY MILDEW, SEPTORIA LEAF SPOT, AND DOWNY MILDEW RESISTANCE WILL BE TESTED IN GENEVA, NY. HIGH-QUALITY DATA OBTAINED FROM THESE EVALUATIONS WILL BE ENTERED INTO GRIN-GLOBAL, A PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE DATABASE. RESISTANT ACCESSIONS IDENTIFIED DURING EVALUATIONS WILL BE USED IN CROSSES TO DEVELOP REGULATORY COMPLIANT, PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, STABLE, AND DISEASE-RESISTANT INDUSTRIAL HEMP GERMPLASM IN THREE IMPORTANT MARKET CLASSES. ADDITIONALLY, GERMPLASM IDENTIFIED DURING THIS WORK WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO DOWNSTREAM MAPPING POPULATIONS TO SUPPORT THE DISCOVERY OF CANDIDATE RESISTANCE GENES. EXTENSION AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES INCLUDING FIELD DAYS, VIDEOS, AND WEBINARS WILL BE USED TO INFORM THE HEMP COMMUNITY OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS.$722,166
· FY2023 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS OF THE FIRE ANT SOLENOPSIS INVICTA$719,196
· FY2009 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture
GENERATION OF A HIGH DENSITY SNP CHIP FOR GENOMIC ANALYSIS IN RAINBOW TROUT$678,000
· FY2011 · National Institute of Food and Agriculture