Naked mole-rat queens use a chemical signal to suppress fertility in rivals
Researchers have discovered that naked mole-rat queens use a specific chemical signal to suppress the fertility of other females in the colony. This olfactory mechanism explains how the queen maintains the eusocial structure of the colony without relying solely on physical aggression.
Why it matters
Understanding the biological and chemical basis of social hierarchies in animals provides insights into evolutionary biology and complex social behaviors.
It’s good to be queen Naked mole-rat queens use a chemical signal to suppress fertility in rivals A single chemical made by mole-rat queens enforces the social order.
9 Credit: imageBROKER/Eric Isselee Credit: imageBROKER/Eric Isselee Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav Naked mole rats are weird. They spend their lives almost entirely underground, are largely insensitive to some kinds of pain, can persist without oxygen for a long time, rarely develop cancer, and can live past 30 years, which is decades longer than similarly sized rodents. They are also eusocial, like ants, bees, or termites—in a colony that can hold more than a hundred animals, only one female, the queen, breeds.
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