The goal of this project is to obtain extensive information about Apomixis (an asexual reproduction system through seed) at the gene level using a natural apomict Boechera and Vaccinium species and engineer apomixis in sexual crop plants using the model system Arabidopsis thaliana. The Fellow has indicated that he is interested in using rockcress (Boechera sp.), and the mentor has added Blueberry and Cranberry (Vaccinium sp.) apomictic seed production mechanism. One of the impediments of blueberry production in the U.S. is the use of multiple cultivars and producers' dependencies in pollinators. Understanding apomixes in model plants such as A. thaliana and Boechera sp. will help breed crop plants that do not require pollinators. Sexual reproduction advantage is being lost during apomictic fruit production; however, through Apomixis, the genes that have implications in evolutionary fitness can pass along.