Plant Genome Research Program

The summary for the Plant Genome Research Program grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the National Science Foundation, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Plant Genome Research Program: This program is a continuation of the Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) that began in FY1998 as part of the National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI). The current five-year plan for the NPGI was published in January 2003 (http://www.ostp.gov/NSTC/html/npgi2003/index.htm). The overall goals of this program are to support basic research in plant genomics and to accelerate the acquisition and utilization of new knowledge and innovative approaches to elucidating fundamental biological processes in plants. The focus is on plants of economic importance and plant processes of potential economic value. In the past eight years of the PGRP, there has been a tremendous increase in the tools available for genomics in key crop plants and their models, including but not limited to, expressed sequence tags (ESTs), genome survey sequences, mutant collections, expression profiling resources, and tools for studying gene expression in situ. High quality whole genome sequences and downstream tools are available for model dicots (Arabidopsis, poplar) and a model monocot (rice), and the sequencing of the gene-rich portions of tomato and Medicago is under way. This wealth of genomic resources now makes it possible for researchers to begin to address some of the major unanswered questions in plant biology that have been intractable using traditional approaches as well as translate findings from model systems into plants of economic importance. At same time, there is a continued need for novel and creative tools to allow development of new experimental approaches or new ways of analyzing genomic data. Proposals that present conceptually new and different ideas are encouraged, especially from investigators and institutions that have not participated in the PGRP before. In addition, proposals that provide strong and novel training opportunities integral to the research plan, and particularly across disciplines are especially encouraged. Three kinds of activity will be supported in FY2006: (1) Genome-Enabled Plant Research (GEPR) awards to tackle major unanswered questions in plant biology on a genome-wide scale, (2) Translational Research from Model Systems (TRMS) to transfer findings made using model systems to plants of economic importance, and (3) Tools and Resources for Plant Genome Research (TRPGR) awards to support development of novel technologies and analysis to enable discovery in plant genomics. While young investigators can apply for any of these opportunities, eligible researchers are strongly encouraged to apply to the CAREER Program (NSF 05-579).