Atom | Plant Biotic Interactions

Due Dates: Proposals accepted anytime (no deadline)

Funding Amounts: Typical awards: $50,000–$300,000 per year for 2–4 years (up to 5 years for CAREER awards); ~25–30 awards/year; total program funding ~$18.5M/year

Summary: Supports research on the mechanisms and principles of beneficial and antagonistic interactions between plants and microbes, invertebrates, and other organisms, from basic biology to agricultural applications.

Key Information: Proposals must be submitted via Research.gov or Grants.gov; strictly ecological projects without mechanistic focus are not eligible.

Description

The Plant Biotic Interactions (PBI) program is a joint initiative of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). It funds research on the processes that mediate beneficial and antagonistic interactions between plants and their associated organisms—including viruses, bacteria, oomycetes, fungi, other plants, and invertebrates. The program supports projects ranging from fundamental mechanistic studies to translational research with direct agricultural relevance.

Research may focus on:

The biology of plant hosts, their pathogens, pests, or symbionts
Interactions among these organisms
The function and dynamics of plant-associated microbiomes

All types of symbiosis are eligible, including commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, and host-pathogen interactions. Projects should be hypothesis-driven and/or discovery-driven, using molecular, genomic, metabolic, cellular, network, and organismal approaches. Quantitative modeling integrated with experimental work is encouraged.

Strictly ecological projects that do not address underlying mechanisms are not appropriate for this program.

Due Dates

Proposals accepted anytime (no fixed deadline)
CAREER proposals relevant to PBI are also reviewed under this program

Funding Amount

Estimated total program funding: ~$18,500,000 per year (NSF: ~$10.5M; USDA/NIFA: ~$8M)
Typical award size: $50,000–$300,000 per year
Award duration: 2–4 years (up to 5 years for CAREER awards)
Number of awards: 25–30 per year, subject to availability of funds

There are no formal upper or lower limits to award amounts, but most awards fall within the typical range.

Eligibility

Proposals may be submitted by:

U.S. institutions of higher education (two- and four-year, including community colleges)
Non-profit, non-academic organizations (e.g., independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies) in the U.S.
USDA/NIFA eligible applicants, including:
- State agricultural experiment stations
- Colleges and universities (including community colleges)
- University research foundations
- Other research institutions and organizations
- Federal agencies and national laboratories
- Private organizations or corporations
- Individuals who are U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents
- Groups consisting of two or more eligible entities

Note: Foreign and international organizations are not eligible.

There are no restrictions on who may serve as PI or co-PI, nor on the number of proposals per organization or investigator.

Application Process

Submission platforms: Research.gov (required for most proposals) or Grants.gov
Letters of intent/pre-proposals: Not required
Proposal preparation: Follow the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) or the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide
Collaborative proposals: Must be submitted via Research.gov if from multiple organizations
Cost sharing: Not allowed
Indirect costs: For NSF awards, standard PAPPG rules apply; for USDA/NIFA awards, indirect costs are capped at 30% of total federal funds awarded

Special proposal types accepted:

Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI)
Research Coordination Networks (RCN)
Conference and supplemental funding (contact program directors)
EAGER and RAPID proposals (for exploratory or urgent research)

Additional Information

International collaboration: Encouraged when it enhances the merit of the proposed work; U.S. teams’ international partners should generally have their own funding.
Broader impacts: Proposals must address both intellectual merit and broader impacts, as per NSF review criteria.
Reporting: Annual and final project reports are required via Research.gov.
Build America, Buy America Act: All iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in the project must be produced in the U.S.

External Links

Contact Information

Name	Role/Agency	Email	Phone
Courtney E. Jahn	NSF Program Director	cjahn@nsf.gov	703-292-7746
Aardra Kachroo	NSF Program Director	akachroo@nsf.gov	703-292-7826
Amer Fayad	USDA-NIFA Program Leader	amer.fayad@usda.gov	816-894-7228
NSF Help Desk	Technical Support	rgov@nsf.gov	1-800-381-1532
Grants.gov Contact Center	Technical Support	support@grants.gov	1-800-518-4726

For general NSF inquiries:

NSF Information Center: 703-292-5111
NSF Contact Page