The Wheat Genetics Resource Center (WGRC) is now accepting project proposals for a funding opportunity focused on mobilizing genetic diversity from wild wheat species and unique germplasm collections developed over the past decade.
Eligible applicants include colleges, universities, research foundations, and other research institutions and organizations. The funding program seeks projects with tool and methodology development and applications to accelerate the delivery of genetic diversity to the wheat industry and marketplace.
The submission process follows a two-stage timeline. Concept notes are due by March 31st, 2026, followed by an industry review and project presentation invitations on April 3rd, 2026. Full proposals must be submitted by April 20th, 2026, with in-person or Zoom project presentations scheduled for April 22-23, 2026, at the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center in Manhattan, Kansas. Award decisions will be announced in early June 2026.
FY26 Priority Areas:
Applications should focus on leveraging WGRC resources and germplasm and delivering improved germplasm. The description of WGRC resources and germplasm can be found through the following link: https://www.notion.so/WGRC-germplasm-3228c54c92ac80b2a38fcd62e8140fce
Proposals incorporating industry collaboration and/or input are strongly encouraged.
– Heat and drought stress negatively impact wheat production. Novel approaches are sought to leverage and incorporate wild germplasm into elite lines to improve heat and drought tolerance. The priority is to focus on screening the wild wheat germplasm collection and derived germplasm for novel traits improving heat and/or drought tolerance, to identify and transfer novel adaptive alleles from wild relatives and to develop germplasm with superior heat and drought tolerance.
– Improving functionality and nutritional quality of wheat are critical for human health and increasing the profitability of the milling and baking industry. The priority is to identify novel traits in the wild wheat collections that can improve wheat flour functionality, wheat nutritional quality, increase overall processing efficiency, reduce external additives, and improve wheat-based product quality and properties benefitting human health.
– Improving yield potential remains one the main priorities for wheat breeding programs. This priority area will focus on discovery of novel alleles and novel traits for yield potential that could be leveraged from wild wheat species, such as increased sink or source capacity, increased photosynthesis, improved standability / lodging resistance, and other key traits for increasing yield potential of wheat.
– Recombination restricts breeding of elite germplasm and introgression of novel traits from species with non-homologous genomes. This priority area will focus on identifying and characterizing loci that can increase the frequency of recombination with homoeologous genomes of wheat, increase the frequency of recombination in the pericentric regions of the wheat genome, and accelerate the transfer of important traits from wild relatives into elite wheat germplasm.
– Arthropods Insect pests including, but not limited to, hessian fly, wheat curl mite, sawfly, and greenbug, are growing problems throughout the Central and Northern US Plains. There is limited genetic diversity for resistance and tolerance to insect pests in current elite germplasm. This priority area will focus on the development of new approaches for screening and evaluating diverse wild wheat collections and derived germplasm, mapping and transferring of identified resistance alleles, and developing resistant germplasm for breeding.
– Viral diseases and associated vectors have a detrimental impact on wheat production throughout the U.S. with limited resistance found within elite breeding germplasm. This priority area will focus on screening wild relatives and derived germplasm for resistance to economically important viral diseases such as wheat streak mosaic virus, barley yellow dwarf virus, high-plains viral complex and associated vectors for these viral diseases, and identifying, characterizing, and transferring novel or improved resistance into elite germplasm.
For more details: WGRC_RFA_2026_FINAL_18March2026
