1a.Objectives (from AD-416):
Technical, financial, and material cooperation for implementation of the RDA Virtual Laboratory in the United States of America.

1b.Approach (from AD-416):
ARS and RDA will develop carefully selected research projects of mutual interest. Research will be conducted at ARS facilities through placement of RDA scientists for short or long-term assignments. Research will be conducted cooperatively and results will be shared jointly.

3.Progress Report:

The RDA-ARS Virtual Laboratory (RAVL) Program received Dr. Hong Kil Moon as the new program coordinator from Korea, who started his term at ARS-OIRP in February 2012 for two years. With OIRP, he manages a portfolio of active projects and works with Kris Dodge (OIRP) to develop new projects. Active research collaborations (all with ARS- Beltsville, MD except as noted)within the scope of the RAVL Program include:.
1)Identification of genes related to plant defense and their application to enhance resistance in soybeans;.
2)Assessment of the beneficial effects of Korean diet on the health risks related to chronic diseases, which Completed feeding study for 27 subjects fed 3 different diets (the Healthy Korean Dietary Pattern, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Dietary Pattern, and the traditional U.S. dietary pattern) for 4 weeks each over a 14 week period; .
3)Development of non-destructive food safety evaluation technology;.
4)Exploration of biosynthetic genes for Fusarium mycotoxins (ARS-Peoria, IL), which successfully developed the method and used it to detect and quantify fusaric acid in cultures of multiple species of Fusarium and to demonstrated that several laboratory-generated mutants of one species can no longer produce fusaric acid;.
5)Soil Nutrient Contents, Hydrology and Remote Sensing - major component of this effort was a series of ground-based scatterometer experiments conducted by RDA in Korea. Data from these studies was used to evaluate a new radar vegetation index for estimating vegetation water content. The results clearly demonstrated the capability of the technique. This was of great benefit to ongoing research for the upcoming Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite that will be launched by the US in 2014, which will have significant impact on global hydrologic and agriculture applications;.
6)Screen of specific genes on mineral nutrient in plants and development of utilizing techniques (ARS-Columbia, MO);.
7)The enhancement of diversification of fruit genetic resources and the development of a long-term storage system for their sustainable use. There were two new projects developed in FY12 which include:.
8)Identification of genes involved in hydroxy fatty acids metabolism in Lesquerella fendleri (ARS-Albany, CA) and.
9)Microbiological study and development of microbial risk assessment of Listeria monocytogenes on Cucurbitaceae fruits.