The National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI) program was initiated in May, 1997 with the long-term objective to understand the structure and function of genes in plants important to agriculture, environmental management, energy, and health. This report highlights the progress made since the NPGI plan was implemented in FY1998, and describes future plans to achieve the six initiative goals. New projects to develop research resources for elucidating the sequence, structure, and organization of complex plant genomes have been initiated, including individual efforts and collaborations between universities, research institutes, private industry, and international research communities. Results from these efforts will provide a solid foundation and a springboard for plant biologists to extend traditional gene discovery and expression analyses to an integrated functional genomics approach. Through relating the function of individual genes to their impacts on plant production and productivity, new opportunities will exist for fundamental plant biology researchers as well for scientists with an interest in the transfer of genomics information into practical applications for plant-based industries. To maintain the momentum of the NPGI program, it is recommended that additional investments be made across all participating agencies at the level, for the next three-year period, of a total of $500 million.
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National Science and Technology Council Executive Secretariat at (202) 456-6120 (voice) or (202) 456-6026 (fax).
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