Tal Dahan-Meir, postdoc in the group of Magnus Nordborg at the GMI of the ÖAW, receives a prestigious ESPRIT Grant from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).  

The grant will support Dahan-Meir's research on natural variation and environmental adaptation in plant populations. Through her work in southern Sweden, she observed strikingly different seed sizes between coastal and inland populations of Arabidopsis thaliana, despite them being just tens of meters apart. While seed size is a life-history trait known to influence plant fitness, the genetic basis and ecological context underlying this variation remain largely unknown.  

In the project “The Ecology and Genetics of Seed Size in Arabidopsis”, Dahan-Meir will combine field experiments, genetics, and genomics, to study the genetic basis and adaptive significance of seed size variation in the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. By conducting research across scales – ranging from local coastal and inland sites in Sweden to global populations within the 1001 Genomes collection – she aims to produce a comprehensive dataset that integrates genetic and ecological information on seed size variation.  

Ultimately, Dahan-Meir's research seeks to provide transformative insights into how quantitative traits evolve under natural selection, paving the way for future explorations into the molecular mechanisms and broader ecological implications of these adaptive traits in nature. 

About Tal Dahan-Meir 

Tal has a deep interest in understanding natural variation in plants and how they adapt to their local environments. During her PhD at the Weizmann Institute of Science, she studied the genetic and phenotypic adaptations of a wild wheat population sampled over 36 years in its natural habitat. This study demonstrated local adaptation to distinct ecological niches, leaving her eager to explore the mechanisms driving such adaptations.  

In 2023, Tal began her position as VIP² Postdoctoral Fellow in the Nordborg group, where she focuses on the adaptive role of seed size using the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. She aims to understand the genetic basis of seed size variation and how it contributes to plant adaptability, particularly in challenging environments. 

About the FWF ESPRIT Program 

The FWF ESPRIT program (Early-Stage Program: Research – Innovation- Training) promotes the professional development of early career researchers (up to 5 years post-PhD) across all disciplines by providing the opportunity to lead an independent research project at an Austrian research institution.  

The goals of the program are to support scientific excellence by funding innovative research, and improving career competitiveness through collaborations, publications, and increased researcher visibility.