Advancing Plant Transformation
Advancing Plant Transformation supports researchers developing plant transformation and regeneration methods, protocols, and tools to overcome barriers to fundamental research and crop improvement.
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Due Dates: See participating NSF and USDA/NIFA program deadlines
Funding Amounts: Funding through existing NSF/BIO and USDA/NIFA programs
Summary: Supports research, protocols, and tools that advance plant genetic transformation and regeneration for fundamental research and crop improvement.
Key Information: This is not a separate competition; submit to a participating program with “PlantTransform:” prefacing the proposal title.
Description
This Dear Colleague Letter highlights interest from NSF’s Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) and USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) in advancing plant genetic transformation through existing funding programs. It welcomes basic research, long-term studies, protocol and tool development, and applications emphasizing potential societal benefits. The goal is to expand U.S. transformation capacity with reliable, genotype-independent, highly efficient methods that overcome barriers to fundamental research and crop improvement.
Research interests include novel transformation technologies and substantial improvements to existing methods. Topics include cell totipotence, cell communication under conditions relevant to regeneration or transformation, cellular handling of introduced genetic components, and plant interactions with microbial change-agents. Studies of under-investigated species that illuminate regeneration, species evolution, or crop domestication are also welcome, including interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaborations.
