Author: orandall

This proposal spans three years with combined efforts from three universities representing three states in the Eastern region (University of Georgia, Auburn University, and Clemson University). This proposal addresses USDA Strategic Plan priority areas by providing opportunities for American agriculture producers to be competitive in the marketplace, provide a safe, nutritious food product, and expand economic development in rural America. The addition of alfalfa in the Southern region meets USDA Science and Research Strategy Priority of cultivating a resilient ecosystem. Further, this proposal supports the development of improved alfalfa forage and seed production systems by aligning with priority areas 1, 2, and 3, specifically in that it will increase alfalfa forage production (30%), improve alfalfa forage systems to optimize economic returns to alfalfa producers and end-users (livestock producers)(30%), and support marketing as a livestock feed in the region represented (30%). An additional outcome of this work will be the ability to quantify and estimate carbon sequestration benefits when annual crop acreage is transitioned to alfalfa as perennial cover-crop option addressing priority 6 (10%). Specifically, the research and Extension approaches described 1) will quantify performance expectations of growing beef animals utilizing alfalfa as a primary feed source, 2) evaluate economic benefits using alfalfa in the region, and 3) expand education efforts of alfalfa integration in the South to intensify system resilience and sustainable forage production and expand knowledge base beyond field technicians to point of sale contacts in the region.

Funder: USDA NIFA 

Amount: $750,024 

PI: Jennifer Tucker, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences 

Climate change is causing unpredictable and severe winter weather, which can devastate wheat crops in major growing regions like Europe, North America, and China. Sudden cold snaps or warm spells during winter can reduce wheat yields by up to 50%, posing a major challenge for farmers and food production worldwide. Wheat, like many staple crops, has a complex genome with multiple copies of each gene, which can sometimes help plants adapt to stress but also complicates breeding efforts. Traditional methods for improving wheat’s cold tolerance rely on field tests, but as cold events become less predictable, this approach is becoming unreliable. To address this, we are using cutting-edge tools to uncover hidden genetic traits that could improve wheat’s ability to survive cold temperatures. Our project will take a closer look at how individual cells in wheat respond to cold, focusing on understanding how specific genes are activated or silenced. By combining advanced single-cell genomics and artificial intelligence (AI) models, we aim to pinpoint the genetic “switches” that help wheat tolerate freezing temperatures. In collaboration with a leading European wheat breeding company, we will test these findings in controlled environments and real-world fields. The ultimate goal is to identify new genetic markers that can quickly be used in breeding programs to develop wheat varieties that are more resilient to extreme cold. Beyond wheat, our research will create a framework for improving other important crops with complex genomes, helping agriculture adapt to the challenges of a changing climate and ensuring more stable food production for the future.

Funder: USDA NIFA 

Amount: $800,000 

PI: Robert Schmitz, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Genetics 

Cultivated peanut has an exceptionally narrow genetic base. This imposes limitations on the improvements that can be made by breeding with peanuts of pure pedigree, in particular with regard to pest and disease resistance. Here we propose to continue the work of incorporation of new pest and disease resistances from wild species into agronomically elite peanut lines from the Southeast of the USA. The work is based on advanced progeny from complex crosses between elite lines and wild species. We propose to use the advanced genetic tools that have been developed in the wake of the peanut genome project. The tracking of wild chromosome segments greatly aids in overcoming linkage drag and provides the foundation of knowledge needed for the development of dedicated, small-scale, parallel marker assays to aid selection in breeding programs. Targets of the proposed work are new, very strong sources of resistance to late leaf spot, early leaf spot, rust, and root-knot nematode.

Funder: Mars, Incorporated 

Amount: $1,187,502 

PI: David Bertioli, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences 

Plants supply essential nutrients, fibers, and pharmaceuticals vital for human survival, and raw materials for numerous industries, including bioenergy, which supports jobs and drives economic development. Glycosyltransferases (GTs) catalyze the formation of glycosidic linkages to produce complex carbohydrates, which are highly abundant in all plants. This project will use high-throughput (HTP) biochemical, biophysical, and computational biology approaches to study carbohydrate metabolic processes in Sorghum bicolor, a platform energy crop. The integrated biochemical and biophysical data will enable the development of data-driven artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) computational tools to expand and accelerate functional prediction of plant gene products, efficiently linking genome sequence with gene function. The proposed research using S. bicolor as a model will provide functional information that can be extrapolated to decipher beneficial multigene traits across diverse plant species. The resulting foundational knowledge will drive innovation in the emerging bioeconomy, support US economic resilience, and advance initiatives focused on increased energy security.

Funder: U.S. Department of Energy 

Amount: $1,915,000 

PI: Breeanna Urbanowicz, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 

Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of bacterial-induced diarrhea worldwide. Infection leads to high rates of morbidity and mortality in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs), particularly in young children where up to 85% of infants are C. jejuni stool positive by one year of age. Also, post-infectious complications such as GuillainBarré syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, reactive arthritis, and environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) are increasingly reported. EED is a subclinical chronic disorder resulting from improper nutrient absorption, intestinal injury and prolonged inflammation that leads to growth stunting, impaired cognitive development, and further complications. In parallel, campylobacters continue to show increasing rates of fluoroquinolone resistance, particularly ciprofloxacin, and are thus high priority pathogens for new antimicrobial development. Through genomics studies examining Campylobacter infection profiles in seven sites in sub-Saharan African and South Asia, we discovered that exclusively breastfed infants showed a significantly higher abundance of C. jejuni in their stools compared to non-breastfed infants, and that breastfed infants were predominantly colonized with asaccharolytic (non-carbohydrate metabolizing) strains of C. jejuni while infection with fucose-metabolizing campylobacters was less frequent. While examining the mechanism behind this selection, we discovered that human breastmilk is unexpectedly toxic to C. jejuni. This finding was confirmed using 5 different isolates and 5 independent breastmilk donor samples. Through directed evolution studies, we isolated C. jejuni strains resistant to breastmilk and demonstrated that the milk bioactive agents were derived from proteins and lipids. This study will investigate how components of human breastmilk can suppress the survival of C. jejuni, and in turn will explore how C. jejuni can develop resistance to those components. The specific aims of this project are to identify the bactericidal lipids and antimicrobial peptides within a pooled collection of human breastmilk, then characterize the mechanisms by which C. jejuni can become resistant to these components, and subsequently test how the identified C. jejuni mutations and toxic milk components impact bacterial colonization in a mouse model of C. jejuni-induced EED. Completion of these aims will fill major gaps in our understanding of EED development and how breastmilk components influence C. jejuni colonization. This study may also identify novel treatments to prevent colonization with this pathogen to reduce the burden of disease and mortality.

Funder: NIH 

Amount: $2,731,162 

PI: Christine Szymanski, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Microbiology 

Brown spot needle blight (BSNB), caused by Lecanosticta acicola, is a foliar disease affecting several species of pines and is a major concern for many commercial plantations globally. The use of host resistance is a promising avenue to mitigate the damage caused by the disease, however, little has been done to characterize resistance and facilitate selection in the radiata pine (Pinus radiata) system, despite the high susceptibility of the species and its commercial importance in many regions. The scope of this proposal is to investigate and characterize the resistance of radiata pine to BSNB, both through classical quantitative genetics and by uncovering the underlying genetic mechanisms. Specific objectives include (i) optimizing controlled inoculation protocols for infecting radiata pine with L. acicola; (ii) infecting a set of New Zealand radiata pine families to assess their susceptibility to BSNB, and establish heritability values for BSNB resistance in radiata pine; (iii) performing transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses on radiata pine seedlings, to understand host genetic responses, as well as chemical and morphological responses; (iv) identifying genome‐wide molecular markers for the rapid selection of radiata pine resistant to BSNB; and (v) comparing genomic regions potentially associated with resistance to BSNB with those involved in the interaction with other needle diseases, for example Dothistroma Needle Blight and Red Needle Cast.

Funder: Radiata Pine Breeding Company

Amount: $294,994

PI: Caterina Villari, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources

Nematodes are among the top yield-robbers encountered by soybean farmers across the U.S. Almost all soybean cyst nematode (SCN)-resistant varieties in U.S. soybean production are derived from two genetic sources, imposing risk of genetic vulnerability and resistance breakdown. Soybean breeders and growers are limited in genetic sources for nematode resistance with competitive yield, which places U.S. soybean production at risk. Discovery of novel nematode resistance from genetically diverse sources is essential for sustainable soybean production. Deployment of resistant varieties will improve U.S. soybean production and protect yields and farmers’ income. New breeding populations were created combining SCN-resistant Peking and other new resistant sources with traits valuable to commodity soybean production and specialty markets. Seven major loci for resistance to five nematode populations were identified using Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS). Our team has successfully developed a strong pipeline of soybean germplasm with resistance to SCN or RKN and competitive yield across all maturity groups. Based on previous discoveries, many genetic populations have been developed to confirm and deploy these genes for nematode resistance. In this new proposal, this team will use an integrated conventional and advanced genomic technologies to achieve the following objectives: 1) incorporate nematode resistance genes into elite high-yielding lines to develop SCN and/or RKN resistant soybean varieties; 2) identify novel sources of multiple nematode resistance from existing resistant sources or soybean germplasm from USDA Soybean Germplasm Collections; 3) map nematode resistance gene(s) to develop DNA markers for efficient breeding selection; and 4) incorporate SCN and/or RKN resistance into high-yielding lines with value-added seed composition or other key abiotic and biotic tolerance traits. This work will benefit the entire value chain by providing new soybean varieties adapted to local growing conditions with resistance to multiple nematode species. This project will also provide new and improved materials to commercial and public breeders for use as parental stocks to develop high-yielding, nematode resistant varieties. DNA markers and QTL information generated will benefit soybean researchers, enabling marker-assisted selection and seeking understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying nematode resistance.

Funder: United Soybean Board

Amount: $319,996

PI: Zenglu Li, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

This project leverages assets from a previously funded NOAA project and the research team’s expertise in using immersive technologies to translate critical hazardous weather information with these theory-driven and evidence-based objectives: (1) amplify the impact of risk communication through mixed-reality (MR) simulations of hazardous weather events (hurricane, wildfire) that can localize the experience of risk in the user’s physical space (2) co-develop transformative action plans for emergency preparedness with key stakeholders (emergency managers, local government representatives, community members) to increase the resilience of communities at risk for hurricanes (Florida) and wildfires (Oregon); (3) develop and test AIWX, a prompt engineered to leverage the power of artificial intelligence to summarize and synthesize large volumes of weather information to assist decision-making when hazardous weather events are imminent. Through a two-year project that engages close to 600 coastal residents, emergency managers, and other stakeholders in the weather enterprise in Florida and Oregon, we aim to address Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Priority (2) – Behavioral responses to hazardous weather events. We will integrate a community-based participatory research approach to work closely with key stakeholders, developing actionable weather solutions that are feasible and sustainable over time. In the Southeastern United States, University of Georgia’s research team will partner with the National Hurricane Center and the Broward County Public Library system (37 branches) in Florida. In the Pacific Northwestern United States, University of Oregon’s research team will partner with the Oregon Museum for Science and Industry in Oregon. Through collaborators who are well-established in these at-risk communities, we can leverage existing resources at the sites, rely on their ability to handle hundreds of thousands of foot traffic from community members, and draw on their reputation as a trusted source of information in the community. At the end of the project, we will deliver a library of immersive experiences that include both virtual reality and mixed reality experiences to simulate hazardous weather events with visceral sensorimotor cues, elevating risk perceptions and drawing attention. The mixed-reality prototype that is currently at RL3 will be tested and iteratively enhanced to RL7. Functionality will be demonstrated in near-real world environments and large-scale demonstrations in Florida and Oregon (tested across N = 240 participants). The co-developed community action plans (‘hero project’) will be tested through the integration of our collaborators and community partners (N = 320) to determine how community members build collective efficacy that leads to actions for transformative and sustainable community resilience against hazardous weather events (target RL5). AIWX will be tested for feasibility with emergency managers and local government personnel to eventually be integrated into their training protocols (target RL7). Together, the southeastern and Pacific northwestern areas of the United States incur billion-dollar disasters from hazardous weather events. By combining the expertise of interdisciplinary university research teams, government, trusted civic partners in at-risk communities, and leveraging the power of cutting-edge immersive technologies and AI, the proposed project aims to overcome individual and community vulnerabilities to weather and better communicate their risks to minimize preventable harms to life and property.

Funder: U.S. Department of Commerce

Amount: $391,865

PI: Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication

For women in the United States, breast cancer is the most common malignancy and the second leading cause of death. In this application, we focus upon a specific subtype of breast cancer known as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Compared to other breast cancer subtypes, TNBC is considered more aggressive and extremely difficult to treat with standard therapies. As a result, it has a high recurrence rate and a high overall mortality rate. TNBC accounts for up to 20% of all breast cancers, with a higher incidence in ethnic minority populations and young women (usually <40 years of age). Approximately 70% of patients with advanced TNBC die of disease recurrence and/or metastasis within 5 years of initial diagnosis. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the medical community to develop more effective therapeutic options for this deadly disease. In this project, we will investigate a novel experimental compound, named LG007, for its anti-cancer activity in TNBC. Of significance, we will utilize robust TNBC Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX) mouse models to study the in vivo efficacy of LG007. Our preliminary results demonstrated that LG007 effectively inhibits TNBC tumor growth and metastasis. Notably, we found that LG007 treatment could robustly shrink large human-derived TNBC PDX tumors, with a near-complete response. These preliminary results strongly support the premise that LG007 is a novel and potent drug candidate capable of treating progressive TNBC and associated metastasis. Furthermore, we demonstrated that LG007 is able to target and regulate miR-10b, a well-known oncogenic miRNA that promotes tumor development and metastasis. Therefore, we hypothesize that miR-10b is a primary target of LG007 that is critically involved in the molecular mechanisms of action by which LG007 inhibits tumor growth and metastasis. Three specific aims are proposed in pursuit of the project’s objective to develop a new therapy for the treatment of TNBC. In Aim 1, we will determine the mechanistic roles of miR-10b and one of its targets, NR4A3, in the anti-TNBC activity of LG007. In Aim 2, we will investigate the in vivo efficacy of LG007 utilizing a variety of advanced mouse models that mimic the clinical setting of TNBC and its associated recurrence and metastasis. In Aim 3, we will characterize the pharmacological and toxicological properties of LG007 in preparation for future translation to clinical testing. We expect that the results obtained from this study will lead to the development of a novel, safe, and effective treatment for patients with advanced TNBC.

Funder: NIH

Amount: $756,324

PI: Yaguang Xi, College of Pharmacy

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is the world’s second most produced grain legume and a critically important crop in Africa, particularly for small-scale producers and communities in the drylands. This crop represents a subsistence protein source for smallholder farming families and an affordable nutrition source in global markets, as well as a source of cash to increase household income, and is thus a driver of agricultural transformation in these areas. This crop is also an essential source of fodder for livestock in West Africa during the dry season. Groundnut’s high susceptibility to diseases creates a yield gap, compounded by limited access to fungicides in African production systems, necessitating solutions that do not depend on annual chemical inputs. Genetic resistance is the most practical and effective way for African farmers to achieve better yields. Genetic variation in peanut is limited due to its recent, unique, polyploid origin, which limits crop improvement through breeding. Wild relatives of peanut are a rich source of alleles that have arisen over millions of years of natural selection in diverse environments. However, in early generation hybrids, the valuable wild alleles are masked by the more numerous unfavorable wild alleles that confer poor growth habit, small seed size, etc. These favorable wild alleles can be discovered through multiple cycles of backcrossing and screening for favorable traits when the wild alleles are incorporated with a substantially cultivated peanut genetic background. The discovery is most complete if wild alleles are monitored by DNA markers during the backcrossing. This project focuses on identifying and transferring high-level resistance to groundnut’s four most destructive diseases in Africa: rosette virus disease, early leafspot, late leafspot and rust. The introgression of these resistance traits into groundnuts represents the core deliverable of this research initiative, offering a pathway to bridge the yield gap through enhanced genetic diversity rather than increased chemical inputs. This goal will be achieved by systematically exploring sources of germplasm for key biotic traits, validating them, and incorporating them into semi-elite donor lines. These improved lines will be transferred to the groundnut breeding networks to develop cultivars that are more resilient and productive, ultimately benefiting small-scale farmers across Africa. The project is rooted in a proven Wild Species Groundnut Improvement Pipeline developed by the University of Georgia, now deployed in collaboration with partners in West and East Africa. Our pipeline in the USA and Senegal has created several sets of new germplasm: a growing collection of backcrossed populations of groundnuts introgressed with seven different wild species and 23 wild-derived allotetraploids incorporating an extra 15 accessions of 12 different species have been created over the last 15 years and are readily available for this project. The proposed work will build on this to produce new improved groundnut cultivars that will need fewer plant protection products.

Funder: Gates Foundation

Amount: $4,998,761

PI: David Bertioli, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences