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Updated: Jan 16, 2026

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Hormonal lockdown: How mole-rat societies enforce infertility in helpers.

A K Janse van Vuuren1, T Süess1, Kyle Finn2

  • 1Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, 0028, South Africa.

Hormones and Behavior
|October 2, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Reproductive suppression in mole-rats shows two strategies: Highveld mole-rats use prolactin (PRL) to inhibit reproduction, while Natal mole-rats rely on social behaviors. This reveals hormonal flexibility in cooperative breeding systems.

Keywords:
Androgen-mediated aggressionCooperative breedingProlactinReproductive suppressionSocial dominance

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Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Cooperative breeding is common in social animals, but the hormonal mechanisms of reproductive suppression in non-breeders are not fully understood.
  • Understanding these mechanisms is key to explaining the evolution and maintenance of sociality.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the hormonal basis of reproductive suppression in two mole-rat subspecies.
  • To compare the roles of prolactin (PRL) and steroid metabolites in regulating infertility.

Main Methods:

  • Measured circulating prolactin (PRL) and fecal metabolites of androgens (fAM), glucocorticoids (fGCM), and progesterone (fPM).
  • Assessed pituitary responsiveness to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in Highveld mole-rats.
  • Compared hormonal profiles between breeding and non-breeding individuals across seasons.

Main Results:

  • Highveld mole-rats showed elevated PRL in non-breeders during the dry season, linked to suppressed gonadal activity.
  • Natal mole-rats had low, stable PRL levels; breeders had higher androgen and progesterone metabolites.
  • A dichotomy in reproductive suppression strategies was observed between the two subspecies.

Conclusions:

  • Prolactin may play a physiological role in suppressing reproduction in Highveld mole-rats.
  • Behavioral mechanisms, like social dominance, likely suppress reproduction in Natal mole-rats.
  • These findings highlight the adaptive plasticity of reproductive suppression in cooperatively breeding mammals.