Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)

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U.S. Geological Survey"s (USGS) Great Lakes Science Center solicits research on "Targeted Genomic Approaches for the Control of Invasive Plants in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems." This project will be a collaborative effort to examine and develop RNAi-based treatments for invasive plants, specifically the non-native Phragmites australis (common reed) and Hydrocharis morsus-ranae (European frog-bit). Ongoing investments in this research generated primary genomic and transcriptomic data for Phragmites australis and Hydrocharis morsus-ranae, so there is now a foundation for the development of targeted species-specific treatments. In addition, no published studies have explored the non-target effects of RNAi constructs on plants closely related to invasive plants. Therefore, this collaborative project will develop and test RNAi-based constructs for these two invasive plants.