diff --git a/rpcserver.go b/rpcserver.go
index f072a56a0..405b213ec 100644
--- a/rpcserver.go
+++ b/rpcserver.go
@@ -3457,8 +3457,11 @@ func (r *rpcServer) SyncUniverse(ctx context.Context,
 
 	uniAddr := universe.NewServerAddrFromStr(req.UniverseHost)
 
+	// TODO(ffranr): obtain federation sync config and pass to syncer.
+
 	// TODO(roasbeef): add layer of indirection in front of?
 	//  * just interface interaction
+	// TODO(ffranr): Sync via the FederationEnvoy rather than syncer.
 	universeDiff, err := r.cfg.UniverseSyncer.SyncUniverse(
 		ctx, uniAddr, syncMode, syncTargets...,
 	)
diff --git a/universe/auto_syncer.go b/universe/auto_syncer.go
index 67731cd40..444c9b05c 100644
--- a/universe/auto_syncer.go
+++ b/universe/auto_syncer.go
@@ -184,14 +184,14 @@ func (f *FederationEnvoy) reportErr(err error) {
 // If the sync is successful (even if no diff is generated), then a new sync
 // event will be logged.
 func (f *FederationEnvoy) syncServerState(ctx context.Context,
-	addr ServerAddr) error {
+	addr ServerAddr, syncConfigs SyncConfigs) error {
 
 	log.Infof("Syncing Universe state with server=%v", spew.Sdump(addr))
 
 	// Attempt to sync with the remote Universe server, if this errors then
 	// we'll bail out early as something wrong happened.
 	diff, err := f.cfg.UniverseSyncer.SyncUniverse(
-		ctx, addr, SyncIssuance,
+		ctx, addr, SyncFull, syncConfigs,
 	)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -468,10 +468,37 @@ func (f *FederationEnvoy) SyncServers(serverAddrs []ServerAddr) error {
 	ctx, cancel := f.WithCtxQuitNoTimeout()
 	defer cancel()
 
-	err := fn.ParSlice(ctx, serverAddrs, f.syncServerState)
+	// Obtain the general and universe specific federation sync configs.
+	queryFedSyncConfigs := f.cfg.FederationDB.QueryFederationSyncConfigs
+	globalConfigs, uniSyncConfigs, err := queryFedSyncConfigs(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("unable to query federation sync "+
+			"config(s): %w", err)
+	}
+
+	syncConfigs := SyncConfigs{
+		GlobalSyncConfigs: globalConfigs,
+		UniSyncConfigs:    uniSyncConfigs,
+	}
+
+	syncServer := func(ctx context.Context, serverAddr ServerAddr) error {
+		return f.syncServerState(ctx, serverAddr, syncConfigs)
+	}
+
+	err = fn.ParSlice(ctx, serverAddrs, syncServer)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Warnf("unable to sync with server: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+// SyncConfigs is a set of configs that are used to control which universes to
+// synchronize with the federation.
+type SyncConfigs struct {
+	// GlobalSyncConfigs are the global proof type specific configs.
+	GlobalSyncConfigs []*FedGlobalSyncConfig
+
+	// UniSyncConfigs are the universe specific configs.
+	UniSyncConfigs []*FedUniSyncConfig
+}
diff --git a/universe/interface.go b/universe/interface.go
index a2e32e257..4eccc82d0 100644
--- a/universe/interface.go
+++ b/universe/interface.go
@@ -473,7 +473,7 @@ type Syncer interface {
 	// remote universe, governed by the sync type and the set of universe
 	// IDs to sync.
 	SyncUniverse(ctx context.Context, host ServerAddr,
-		syncType SyncType,
+		syncType SyncType, syncConfigs SyncConfigs,
 		idsToSync ...Identifier) ([]AssetSyncDiff, error)
 }
 
diff --git a/universe/syncer.go b/universe/syncer.go
index c988833cf..cf338be22 100644
--- a/universe/syncer.go
+++ b/universe/syncer.go
@@ -60,7 +60,8 @@ func NewSimpleSyncer(cfg SimpleSyncCfg) *SimpleSyncer {
 // A simple approach where a set difference is used to find the set of assets
 // that need to be synced is used.
 func (s *SimpleSyncer) executeSync(ctx context.Context, diffEngine DiffEngine,
-	syncType SyncType, idsToSync []Identifier) ([]AssetSyncDiff, error) {
+	syncType SyncType, syncConfigs SyncConfigs,
+	idsToSync []Identifier) ([]AssetSyncDiff, error) {
 
 	// Prevent the syncer from running twice.
 	if !s.isSyncing.CompareAndSwap(false, true) {
@@ -115,6 +116,18 @@ func (s *SimpleSyncer) executeSync(ctx context.Context, diffEngine DiffEngine,
 		}
 	}
 
+	// Filter target roots based on sync configs and sync type.
+	if syncType == SyncIssuance {
+		// Filter out all roots that are not issuance roots.
+		targetRoots = fn.Filter(
+			targetRoots, func(r BaseRoot) bool {
+				return r.ID.ProofType == ProofTypeIssuance
+			},
+		)
+	}
+
+	//
+
 	log.Infof("Obtained %v roots from remote Universe server",
 		len(targetRoots))
 	log.Tracef("Obtained %v roots from remote Universe server: %v",
@@ -322,21 +335,8 @@ func (s *SimpleSyncer) batchStreamNewItems(ctx context.Context,
 // SyncUniverse attempts to synchronize the local universe with the remote
 // universe, governed by the sync type and the set of universe IDs to sync.
 func (s *SimpleSyncer) SyncUniverse(ctx context.Context, host ServerAddr,
-	syncType SyncType, idsToSync ...Identifier) ([]AssetSyncDiff, error) {
-
-	// First, we'll make sure that the user requested a sync with the set
-	// of supported sync types.
-	switch syncType {
-	case SyncIssuance:
-		break
-
-	// For now, we only support issuance syncs.
-	case SyncFull:
-		fallthrough
-
-	default:
-		return nil, ErrUnsupportedSync
-	}
+	syncType SyncType, syncConfigs SyncConfigs,
+	idsToSync ...Identifier) ([]AssetSyncDiff, error) {
 
 	log.Infof("Attempting to sync universe: host=%v, sync_type=%v, ids=%v",
 		host.HostStr(), syncType, spew.Sdump(idsToSync))
@@ -351,5 +351,5 @@ func (s *SimpleSyncer) SyncUniverse(ctx context.Context, host ServerAddr,
 
 	// With the engine created, we can now sync the local Universe with the
 	// remote instance.
-	return s.executeSync(ctx, diffEngine, syncType, idsToSync)
+	return s.executeSync(ctx, diffEngine, syncType, syncConfigs, idsToSync)
 }