NSF Grants Nearly $60M for Plant Genome Research Program Awards

October 29, 2008

By hammersmith

Source: GenomeWeb News, a GenomeWeb staff reporter ] – The National Science Foundation has injected $57.3 million into plant genomics studies across the country, and to several international recipients, covering a wide variety of plant life, such as legumes, soil microbes, flower nectar, mutant plants, and other crops.

This round of Plant Genome Research Program studies, in the eleventh year of the program, range from $350,000 to $6.8 million, and vary from two to five years in duration.

These grants will support tool development to advance genomics studies, and the studies will use sequence and functional genomics resources to investigate gene function and interactions between genomes and the environment. These programs will emphasize studies of crop plants that are economically useful such as corn, soybean, wheat, and rice, NSF said.

“Plant biologists continue to make significant conceptual and theoretical advances in our understanding of basic biological processes using plants,” James Collins, NSF assistant director for biological sciences, said in a statement. “The latest projects funded through the PGRP reflect this shift and will integrate innovative, cutting edge research with the training of the next generation of plant scientists at both research universities and small teaching colleges and universities.