Responses to pup vocalizations in subordinate naked mole-rats are induced by estradiol ingested through coprophagy of queen's feces.

ABSTRACT: Naked mole-rats form eusocial colonies consisting of a single breeding female (the queen), several breeding males, and sexually immature adults (subordinates). Subordinates are cooperative and provide alloparental care by huddling and retrieving pups to the nest. However, the physiological mechanism(s) underlying alloparental behavior of nonbreeders remains undetermined. Here, we examined the response of subordinates to pup voice and the fecal estradiol concentrations of subordinates during the three reproductive periods of the queen, including gestation, postpartum, and nonlactating. Subordinate response to pup voice was observed only during the queen's postpartum and was preceded by an incremental rise in subordinates' fecal estradiol concentrations during the queen's gestation period, w

SUBMITTER: Watarai A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6140523 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature