“Surprisingly Long Survival of Premature Conclusions about Naked Mole-Rat Biology”, Stan Braude, Susanne Holtze, Sabine Begall, Julia Brenmoehl, Hynek Burda, Philip Dammann, Delphine del Marmol, Ekaterina Gorshkova, Yoshiyuki Henning, Andreas Hoeflich, Annika Höhn, Tobias Jung, Dania Hamo, Arne Sahm, Yury Shebzukhov, Radim Šumbera, Satomi Miwa, Mikhail Y. Vyssokikh, Thomas von Zglinicki, Olga Averina, Thomas B. Hildebrandt2020-10-30 (longevity; similar)⁠:

Naked mole-rats express many unusual traits for such a small rodent. Their morphology, social behavior, physiology, and ageing have been well studied over the past half-century. Many early findings and speculations about this subterranean species persist in the literature, although some have been repeatedly questioned or refuted. While the popularity of this species as a natural-history curiosity, and oversimplified story-telling in science journalism, might have fuelled the perpetuation of such misconceptions, an accurate understanding of their biology is especially important for this new biomedical model organism. We review 28 of these persistent myths about naked mole-rat sensory abilities, ecophysiology, social behavior, development and ageing, and where possible we explain how these misunderstandings came about.

• Ecophysiology and environment:

  • naked mole-rats are hairless

  • naked mole-rats are strictly subterranean and never go above ground

  • naked mole-rats have unusually long burrows

  • naked mole-rats are the only poikilothermic mammals

  • naked mole-rats have uniquely low thyroid hormone levels

  • naked mole-rat burrows are hypoxic and hypercapnic

• Sensory ecology

  • Naked mole-rats are blind

  • naked mole-rats have degenerated hearing

  • naked mole-rats are the most vocal rodents because they live in large groups

  • naked mole-rats feel no pain

• Social behavior and reproduction:

  • naked mole-rats are the only eusocial mammals

  • colonies have castes of breeders and non-breeders, involving frequent workers, infrequent workers, non-workers, and dispersers

  • colonies have up to three male breeders (pashas)

  • colonies have a single queen

  • not all females can become queens

  • queens suppress workers with pheromones

  • queens shove workers to get them to work

  • naked mole-rats never leave their natal colonies

  • naked mole-rats are inbred

• Development, longevity, ageing and senescence:

  • the GH/IGF axis is impaired in naked mole-rats

  • naked mole-rats are long-lived because they have low oxidative stress and damage

  • naked mole-rat cells do not display cellular senescence

  • naked mole-rats are immune to disease

  • naked mole-rats do not get tumours or cancer

  • naked mole-rats have extremely large hyaluronan

  • naked mole-rat cells have early contact inhibition that prevents cancer

  • naked mole-rats are non-ageing

• Taxonomy:

  • naked mole-rats are the single member of a taxonomic family

Similar Links: