MSCA PF Fellow: Samathmika Ravi

Samathmika Ravi is an integrated omics analyst working at the interface of plant evolutionary biology and domestication genomics. Her research investigates how evolutionary processes such as natural selection, gene flow, and local adaptation shape genetic variation in wild relatives, and how this diversity can be harnessed to strengthen agricultural systems under environmental stress. She obtained her PhD from the University of Padua (DAFNAE) under the supervision of Prof. Piergiorgio Stevanato, focusing on Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima (sea beet) as a reservoir of adaptive alleles linked to abiotic stress tolerance. Her doctoral work combined genomics, advanced phenotyping, transcriptomics, and microbiome analyses to dissect the genetic architecture of resilience and translate genotype–phenotype relationships into pre-breeding targets.

Through the Bytes4Beets project, she applies a landscape genomics framework to characterise adaptive variation across Mediterranean wild beet populations. Her research integrates pan-genome construction, haplotype-resolved assemblies, genome–environment association analyses, satellite-derived NDVI time-series data, and high-resolution climatic variables to identify environment-specific adaptive haplotypes. Conducted between the University of Western Australia and the University of Padua, the project leverages advanced computational infrastructure for large-scale genomic integration. Her broader vision is to bridge evolutionary biodiversity research and applied breeding to support sustainable agriculture under climate change.