Morphological and genomic shifts in mole-rat 'queens' increase fecundity but reduce skeletal integrity.

Johnston, Rachel A ORCID: 0000-0002-8965-1162, Vullioud, Philippe, Thorley, Jack ORCID: 0000-0002-8426-610X, Kirveslahti, Henry, Shen, Leyao, Mukherjee, Sayan, Karner, Courtney M, Clutton-Brock, Tim and Tung, Jenny ORCID: 0000-0003-0416-2958 (2021) Morphological and genomic shifts in mole-rat 'queens' increase fecundity but reduce skeletal integrity. eLife, 10. e65760-.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/elife.65760

Abstract

In some mammals and many social insects, highly cooperative societies are characterized by reproductive division of labor, in which breeders and nonbreeders become behaviorally and morphologically distinct. While differences in behavior and growth between breeders and nonbreeders have been extensively described, little is known of their molecular underpinnings. Here, we investigate the consequences of breeding for skeletal morphology and gene regulation in highly cooperative Damaraland mole-rats. By experimentally assigning breeding 'queen' status versus nonbreeder status to age-matched littermates, we confirm that queens experience vertebral growth that likely confers advantages to fecundity. However, they also upregulate bone resorption pathways and show reductions in femoral mass, which predicts increased vulnerability to fracture. Together, our results show that, as in eusocial insects, reproductive division of labor in mole-rats leads to gene regulatory rewiring and extensive morphological plasticity. However, in mole-rats, concentrated reproduction is also accompanied by costs to bone strength.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Femur, Lumbar Vertebrae, Animals, Mole Rats, Social Behavior, Cooperative Behavior, Age Factors, Sex Factors, Gene Expression Regulation, Bone Development, Fertility, Genome, Sexual Behavior, Animal, Biological Evolution
Divisions:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Environmental Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	21 Dec 2021 13:36
Last Modified:	18 Mar 2024 02:24
DOI:	10.7554/elife.65760
Open Access URL:	https://elifesciences.org/articles/65760
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3145776