Plant Biotic Interactions

The Plant Biotic Interactions (PBI) program is a joint funding initiative led by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA/NIFA). This program supports research that seeks to understand the interactions between plants and various biotic agents, including microbes, invertebrates, and other plants. The PBI program spans both fundamental and translational research, aiming to generate insights that could improve agricultural practices through enhanced understanding of plant biotic processes. The core objective of the PBI program is to support projects that examine beneficial and antagonistic interactions between plants and their biotic partners such as pathogens, pests, and symbionts. Research can encompass any type of symbiosis—commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, and pathogenic interactions. Topics of interest include immune signaling, microbiome function, molecular and genomic mechanisms, and the physiological consequences of biotic interactions. Projects should be hypothesis-driven or discovery-based and are encouraged to integrate modeling with experimental work. Applicants can submit proposals at any time through Research.gov or Grants.gov, although FastLane is no longer supported for this specific solicitation. There are no restrictions on the number of proposals an organization or individual may submit. Proposals may be purely fundamental, applied, or include both elements, but they must be justified by their relevance to agriculture or basic biological principles. Funding from USDA/NIFA is available for up to four years per project. Projects are evaluated on their intellectual merit and broader impacts, according to standard NSF criteria. Eligibility for this program includes U.S.-based institutions of higher education (including community colleges), nonprofit non-academic organizations such as research labs and professional societies, and various entities specified by USDA/NIFA such as federal agencies, private organizations, and individuals who are U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents. Foreign organizations are not eligible. Cost sharing is prohibited, and the indirect cost rates are capped at 30 percent for USDA-funded awards. Full proposals must adhere to NSF’s Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) or the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide. Application materials must include standard components such as biographical sketches, project descriptions, and budgets. Letters of collaboration may be included if they conform to specified templates and guidelines. While letters of intent and preliminary proposals are not required, thorough documentation of prior support and collaborative arrangements is necessary. Contact points for this grant include Courtney E. Jahn (cjahn@nsf.gov), Aardra Kachroo (akachroo@nsf.gov), and Amer Fayad (amer.fayad@usda.gov). Proposals may be submitted at any time. The program is expected to distribute approximately 25 to 30 awards annually, with funding levels ranging between $50,000 and $300,000 per year depending on the project's scope and duration.