Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

This is a Sources Sought Notice only. This Sources Sought Notice does not constitute an Invitation for Bids, Request for Proposals, or a Request for Quotations, and is not to be construed as a commitm... This is a Sources Sought Notice only. This Sources Sought Notice does not constitute an Invitation for Bids, Request for Proposals, or a Request for Quotations, and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue an order or otherwise pay for the information solicited, nor is it a guarantee of a forthcoming solicitation or contract. The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is for market research purposes only. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. The USDA/Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is conducting market research to support its Plant Science Research Unit located in Raleigh, NC. The USDA/Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is seeking sources with the intent to procure analysis on global metabolite profiles of bitter and nonbitter pickling cucumber varieties in fresh, acidified, and fermented forms. The experiment will consist of the following: I. Statement of Work The USDA ARS lab of Dr. Christina Cowger is doing groundbreaking research on global diversity of the pathogen Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, the fungal pathogen that causes powdery mildew of wheat. We will sequence U.S. isolates of the pathogen with varying levels of sensitivity to QoI (strobilurin) fungicides, one of the two effective classes of fungicides used to control wheat powdery mildew worldwide. Our research has already established that there is variation for QoI sensitivity in the pathogen population, and we have found mutations in the fungal gene targeted by QoIs (cytochrome b in the mitochondrion). The proposed whole genome sequencing will determine the extent of those mutations in the fungal population, and whether these mutations, or other genetic variation identified in the sequenced isolates, are associated with the fungicide resistance phenotype. This research consists of: • Preparation of libraries for sequencing. • Whole genome sequencing of the multiplexed libraries by Novogene to capture all versions of cytb that exist in a set of isolates that may have multiple versions (heteroplasmy). The proposed work will inform strobilurin resistance management programs for wheat powdery mildew in the US. II. The following items are required for the preparation of dna libraries and sequencing of the mildew dna samples. We require an average sequencing coverage of ~36X per mildew isolate, which corresponds to a sequencing output of 6 Gigabases per isolate, or a minimum of 384 Gigabases for the set of 64 isolates being sequenced. • Business size: With regard to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541690 per the standard described in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 19.102. • Small business versus large business, other socio-economic categories such as Section 8(a), Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUB-Zone), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB). • DUNS Number and CAGE code. • Tailored capability statements addressing the salient characteristics listed, with appropriate documentation supporting capability. Responses to this Notice must be in writing. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. Interested parties should e-mail responses to keith.enoch@usda.gov on or before Monday, September 21, 2020 no later than 12:00 pm EDT. Hard copies of the responses are not required and will not be accepted.