2012 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416): The objective of this cooperative research project is to identify genes important in resistance of soybean to soybean rust and soybean cyst nematode and to develop soybean plants with broad resistance to them. 1b.Approach (from AD-416): Soybean genes expressed during rust and nematode invasion will be identified that may be used to broaden resistance to rust and SCN through soybean transformation or targeted mutations. These genes can be over- or under-expressed in soybean roots and challenged with rust and SCN. Genes will be identified that are up regulated during the resistance response using microarrays and deep-sequencing techniques. These up-regulated genes will be over-expressed using strong constitutive promoters or under-expressed using RNA interference. 3.Progress Report: DNA sequence derived from soybean rust, which is a fungal pathogen of soybean, was analyzed using bioinformatic tools to identify the genes that express during rust infection. Six soybean genes were identified and cloned that respond to rust infection. These genes will be tested further to see if they confer resistance to soybean rust. The identification of up-regulated genes will lead to new sources of resistance to soybean rust which is the goal of the parent project.