Naked mole rats live in colonies characterized by having a single breeding queen. It emerges that a queen-associated chemical helps to maintain this reproductive hierarchy.
28 July 2026
Naked mole rats live in colonies characterized by having a single breeding queen. It emerges that a queen-associated chemical helps to maintain this reproductive hierarchy.
By
Chris G. Faulkes
Chris G. Faulkes is at the School of Biological & Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK.
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A single chemical made by mole-rat queens enforces the social order.
The mechanism behind these strange mammals' extreme social structure has been a long-standing puzzle.
The scent of a single chemical, made only by the queen, alters hormone production in other females.
A lone female maintains her status in the colony by hoarding her ability to reproduce.
Naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) queens produce isopropyl myristate, a low-volatility ester that high-ranking animals…
Naked mole-rats are wonderfully strange.
