Variability is one of the few consistent characteristics of biological systems occurring at different levels of organization, from biomes
to individuals. Moreover, at individual level, a vast amount of trait variation occurs within single individuals of modular organisms
such as plants. Subindividual trait variation is mainly due to organ level phenotypic plasticity, and it has an epigenetic basis. In plants,
subindividual trait variation occurs between multiple repeated organs, such as different leaves, fruits, flowers, and which are reruns of
the same genotype under different micro-environmental conditions. Subindividual variation can be larger than among individual or
among population variation, being a major source of phenotypic variation in nature. However, because subindividual variation is
generated within individual genotypes, it has been inaccurately assumed to be invisible to ecological or evolutionary processes.
Therefore, its adaptative role to global changes as well as the associated potential impact on ecosystem functioning is currently
unknown. Given the importance of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning and mitigation of anthropogenic change, understanding
the evolutionary and ecological consequences of a vast biodiversity asset such as subindividual trait variation is a major scientific and
societal challenge. The main goal of this Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellowship is to evaluate the role of subindividual variation for plant
adaptation to climatic change and to quantify the knock-on effects on ecosystem functions. To achieve this goal MS proposes a multigenerational artificial-selection and ecosystem experiment at a state-of-the-art experimental research facility (the Ecotron of
Montpellier) equipped for automatic high-frequency measurements of multiple ecosystem processes (e.g. CO2 net ecosystem
exchange, water use efficiency) and stable isotope 13CO2 labeling (for estimation of soil carbon storage).
