Professorship for Molecular Evolutionary Biology (Prof. Gadau)

Hüfferstraße 1
48149 Münster

Evolution of chemical communication – Deciphering common elements in the chemical language of insects

As the earliest and most wide-spread form of communication, chemical signaling has permeated through all known taxa of life. Insects, in particular, have exploited chemical signaling as their primary mode of communication. The overarching aim of my research is to investigate the chemical language of insects and the corresponding adaptation mechanisms that gave rise to the astonishing diversity of signaling molecules found in this remarkable, most species-rich class in the animal kingdom. Thereby, I pursue an interdisciplinary approach through the combination of evolutionary biology, chemical ecology, functional genetics, comparative genomics, behavioral biology, and analytical chemistry. The evolution of species- and sex-specific pheromone phenotypes and their influence on mate recognition, assortative mating, behavioral isolation and, ultimately, speciation, has thereby always played a prominent role throughout my research.

CURRICULUM VITAE

• Professional Carreer 

  Since 2018: Scientific assistant at the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity at the University of Münster, Germany

  2016 - 2018: Research scholar at the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, & Management
  University of California, Berkeley, USA

  2013 - 2016: Scientific manager of the Excellence Initiative Graduate School “Jena School for Microbial Communication”, Jena, Germany

  2012 - 2013: Scientific consultant and project manager at Aldebaran, Hamburg, Germany and Overtaal, Utrecht, The Netherlands

  2011 - 2012: Postdoctoral research scholar at the Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, USA

  2007 - 2010: Research associate at the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Animal Ecology, University of Freiburg, Germany and at the School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA

   

• Education

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  2007 - 2010: PhD in Evolutionary Biology and Chemical Ecology at the University of Freiburg, Germany and at the Arizona State University, Tempe, USA

  2006 - 2007: Postgraduate / Master studies in Bioinformatics at the University of Cologne, Germany

  2003 - 2006: Graduate studies in Biology at the University of Muenster, Germany

  2003: Semester abroad at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

  2000 - 2002: Undergraduate studies in Biology at the University of Muenster, Germany

   

• Selected Publications

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  Whyte B., Sandidge R., Buellesbach J., Cash E., Scheckel K., Gibson J.D., Tsutsui N. (2022) “Body size and cuticular hydrocarbon composition determine desiccation resistance in the invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile)” submitted to Journal of Experimental Biology

  Leung, K., Beukeboom, L.W., Buellesbach J. (2022) “Novel insights into insect chemical communication – an introduction”. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 170: 286- 288.

  Golian M., Bien T., Schmelzle S., Esparza-Mora M.A., McMahon D.P., Dreisewerd K., Buellesbach J. (2022) “Neglected very long-chain hydrocarbons and the incorporation of body surface area metrics reveal novel perspectives for cuticular profile analysis in insects”. Insects, 13(1), 83

  Möckel, L.; Meusemann, K.; Misof, B.; Schwartze, V.U.; De Fine Licht, H.H.; Voigt, K.; Stielow, B.; de Hoog, S.; Beutel, R.G.; Buellesbach, J. (2022) “Phylogenetic revision and patterns of host specificity in the fungal subphylum Entomophthoromycotina”. Microorganisms, 10(2): 256

  Buellesbach J., Holze H., Schrader L., Liebig J., Schmitt T., Gadau J., Niehuis, O. (2021) “Genetic and genomic architecture of species-specific cuticular hydrocarbon variation in parasitoid wasps”. bioRxiv, 10.18.464893

  Buellesbach, J., Diao, W., Schmitt, T. and Beukeboom, L.W. (2021), “Micro-climate correlations and conserved sexual dimorphism of cuticular hydrocarbons in European populations of the jewel wasp Nasonia vitripennis”. Ecological Entomology, 47(1): 38-51

  Holze, H., Schrader, L. & Buellesbach, J. (2020) “Advances in deciphering the genetic basis of insect cuticular hydrocarbon biosynthesis and variation. Heredity, 126(2): 219–234

  Dennis A.B., Ballesteros, G.I., Robin, S., Schrader, L., Bast, J., Berghöfer, J., Beukeboom, L.W., Belghazi, M., Bretaudeau, A., Buellesbach J. et al. (2020) “Functional insights from the GC-poor genomes of two aphid parasitoids, Aphidius ervi and Lysiphlebus fabarum”, BMC Genomics, 21(1): 376.

  Buellesbach J., Whyte B., Cash E., Gibson J.D., Scheckel K., Sandidge R., Tsutsui N. (2018) “Desiccation resistance and micro-climate adaptation: Cuticular hydrocarbon signatures of different Argentine ant supercolonies across California”, Journal of Chemical Ecology, 44(12):1101-1114

  Buellesbach J., Cash E., Schmitt T. (2018) “Communication, insects”, in “Encyclopedia of Reproduction, Second Edition”, Volume 6, Elsevier Science Publishing Co Inc, San Diego, USA

  Buellesbach J.*, Vetter S.G*., Schmitt T. (2018) “Differences in the reliance on cuticular hydrocarbons as sexual signaling and species discrimination cues in parasitoid wasps”, (*Authors contributed equally), Frontiers in Zoology, 15:22

  Buellesbach J. (2018) “Pheromone Communication Systems in the Nasonia Species Complex” in “Advances in Animal Science and Zoology” Volume 11, Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge NY, USA

  Buellesbach J., Watt J.R., Shuker D.M. (2017). “Nasonia Wasp Behavior Genetics” in “Reference Module in Life Sciences”, Elsevier, 978-0-12-809633-8

  Buellesbach J., Schmitt T. (2015) “The role of cuticular hydrocarbon-based chemical communication in prezygotic reproductive isolation” in “Animal Communication and Cognition: Principles, Evolution and Development”, Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge NY, USA

  Buellesbach J., Greim C., Raychoudhury R., Schmitt T.  (2014) “Asymmetric interspecific mating behavior reflects incomplete prezygotic isolation in the jewel wasp Nasonia”, Ethology 120 (8):834-843

  Buellesbach J., Gadau J., Beukeboom L.W., Echinger F., Raychoudhury R., Werren J.H., Schmitt T.  (2013) “Cuticular hydrocarbon divergence in males and females of the jewel wasp genus Nasonia: Evolutionary shifts in chemical communication?”, Journal of Evolutionary Biology 26(11):2467-2478

  *Niehuis O., *Buellesbach J., *Gibson J.D., Pothman D., Hanner C., Mutti N., Judson A.K., Liebig J., Gadau J., *Ruther J., Schmitt T.  (2013) “Behavioural and genetic analysis on Nasonia shed light on the evolution of sex pheromones”, (*Authors contributed equally), Nature 494(7437):345-348

  Giesbers M., Gerritsma S., Buellesbach J., Diao W., Pannebakker B.A., van de Zande L., Schmitt T., Beukeboom L.W. “Prezygotic Isolation in the Parasitoid Wasp Genus Nasonia” in “Speciation: Natural Processes, Genetics and Biodiversity” (2013), Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge NY, USA

  *Niehuis O., *Buellesbach J., Judson A.K., Schmitt T., Gadau J. (2011) “Genetics of cuticular hydrocarbon differences between males of the parasitoid wasps Nasonia giraulti and Nasonia vitripennis”, (*Authors contributed equally), Heredity 107(1):61-70

  Raychoudhury R., Desjardins C.A., Buellesbach J., Loehlin D.W., Grillenberger B.K., Beukeboom L., Schmitt T., Werren, J.H. (2010) “Behavioral and genetic characteristics of a new species of Nasonia“, Heredity 104(3):278-288

  Oberle C., Huai J., Reinheckel T., Tacke M., Rassner M., Ekert P.G., Buellesbach J., Borner C.  (2010) “Lysosomal membrane permeabilization and cathepsin release is a Bax/Bak-dependent, amplifying event of apoptosis in fibroblasts and monocytes.“ Cell Death Differ 17(7):1167-1178

  Buellesbach J. (2008) “Hypothetical new class of coding RNAs in insect genomes.” BMMS 1(4):245-248

  Koenig S., Mehlich A.-M., Buellesbach J., Michiels N. (2006) “Allohormones in Lumbricus terrestris? Mass spectrometry of the setal gland product indicates role of ubiquitin.” Invertebr. Reprod. Dev. 49(1-2):103-111

• Areas of Expertise

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  Evolutionary biology, chemical ecology, functional genetics, comparative genomics, analytical chemistry, behavioral biology, entomology, cuticular hydrocarbons, pheromones, chemical communication, evolutionary theory, speciation