TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese genomicist Isheng Jason Tsai (蔡怡陞) and French researcher Gianni Liti were awarded the Franco-Taiwanese Scientific Grand Prize in Paris on Wednesday for their groundbreaking research on yeast evolution and genetic variation.
Tsai, a research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Biodiversity Research Center, discovered nine pre-domesticated wild lineages of brewer’s yeast in the nation’s broadleaf forests, underscoring Taiwan’s pivotal role as a site for ancestral yeast diversity.
Their work sheds light on microbial adaptation and the evolutionary history of yeast before domestication, marking a significant advance in evolutionary genomics.
Liti is a senior researcher and heads the Population Genomics and Complex Traits group at the Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging in Nice, France.
The Franco-Taiwanese Scientific Grand Prize was co-founded by the French Academy of Sciences and Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council. It annually honors outstanding collaborative scientific achievements between the two countries.
The award ceremony in Paris was attended by top officials from both sides, including the deputy head of the National Science and Technology Council and Taiwan’s representative to France.
Tsai’s discovery has advanced understanding of the genetic evolution of species critical to human culture, such as yeast. The award also shines a light on Taiwan’s rich natural ecosystems as vital resources for cutting-edge biological research.
Tsai introduces himself on the Academia Sinica website as an “evolutionary biologist interested in using omic tools to study how microorganisms adapt to the unique environment of their hosts.”
The Imperial College London-educated scholar describes his research thus: “Taiwan is a small island, taking up only 0.03% of the world’s land mass. However, the number of plant and animal species in Taiwan is 2.6% of the world’s.”
Last year, Academia Sinica Institute of Biochemistry research fellow Hsu Sheng-te (徐尚德) and Paris Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences senior scientist Cyril Hanus were recognized for their work in molecular biology.
