Tobias Prüser

 

Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity
Hüfferstr. 1
D-48149 Münster, Germany
Tel.: +49 152 83 21096
tobias.prueser@uni-muenster.de

Education

• Since 2025:
  PhD studies in the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Germany
• 2021-2023:
  M.Ed. Biology and History, University of Münster, Germany
• 2017-2021
  2FB Biology and History, University of Münster, Germany

Work experience

• 2023-2024:
  Research Assistant, Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Germany

Supervisors

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Research interests

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PhD project description

Establishing Tribolium castaneum as a new model for studying individual variation and evolution of circadian rhythms.

Circadian clocks, which regulate circadian rhythms, are ubiquitous and maximize the fitness of organisms by allowing them to anticipate rather than simply react to the 24h changes in their environment. While the general mechanisms of these molecular clocks are well understood, the role of individual variation in circadian rhythms within species and its significance for clock evolution remains understudied. As recent studies in the red flour beetle T. Castaneum revealed remarkable within-species diversity in locomotor activity patterns, this PhD project aims to utilise this variation to address open questions in evolution of circadian rhythms. The foundation for this project will be to gain a comprehensive understanding of the molecular underpinnings of circadian rhythms in T. castaneum through the combination of gene knock downs and the measurement of clock gene expression by qPCR. Secondly, a selection line, in which we select for distinct rhythmic and arrhythmic behaviour, will test if the observed variation is genetically fixed and thus can provide the raw material for adaptation. In case of successful selection, a following RNAseq analysis, comparing rhythmic, arrhythmic and non selected beetles, will identify the origin of the behavioural differences. Finally, this project will explore how social interactions influence rhythmicity in T. castaneum, examining the impact of a more natural group setting on individual variation. We hypothesize that the beetles synchronise their behaviour with that of their conspecifics, potentially masking arrhythmic behaviour. Such a social rhythmicity could buffer newly arising variation from selection, and therefore may explain the observed degree of individual variation. Taken together, this project will establish T. castaneum as a model organism for studying the evolution and diversity of circadian rhythms.

Publications

R. Reshma, T. Prüser, N. Schulz, et al., “Deciphering a beetle clock: Individual and sex-dependent variation in daily activity patterns,” Journal of Biological Rhythms, 2024.  https://doi.org/10.1177/07487304241263619