Majelantle Tshepiso Lesedi, Ganswindt Andre, Ganswindt Stefanie Birgit, Hagenah Nicole, Hart Daniel William, Bennett Nigel Charles
Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, South Africa.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Sep 27;13(19):3039. doi: 10.3390/ani13193039.
The naked mole-rat () occurs in colonies with a distinct dominance hierarchy, including one dominant, breeding female (the queen), 1-3 breeding males, and non-reproductive subordinates of both sexes that are reproductively suppressed while in the colony. To non-invasively evaluate reproductive capacity in the species, we first had to examine the suitability of enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for determining progestogen and androgen metabolite concentrations in the naked mole-rat, using urine and faeces. A saline control and gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) were administered to twelve (six males and six females) naked mole-rats which were previously identified as dispersers and housed singly. The results revealed that urine is possibly not an ideal matrix for progestogen and androgen metabolite quantification in naked mole-rats as no signal was detected in the matrix post GnRH administration. A 5α-Progesterone EIA and an Epiandrosterone EIA were identified as suitable for quantifying faecal progesterone metabolites (fPMs) and faecal androgen metabolites (fAMs) in males and females, respectively. The results suggest that there are individual variations in baseline fPM and fAM concentrations, and only two out of six females and no males exhibited an increase in fPM concentrations greater than 100% (-20% SD) post GnRH administration. Conversely, only four out of six females and three out of six males had an increase in fAM concentrations greater than 100% (-20% SD) following GnRH administration. These results imply that some naked mole-rat individuals have a reduced reproductive capacity even when they are separated from the queen.
裸鼹鼠生活在具有明显等级制度的群体中，包括一只占主导地位的繁殖雌性（女王）、1 - 3只繁殖雄性，以及两性的非繁殖从属个体，这些从属个体在群体中生殖受到抑制。为了非侵入性地评估该物种的生殖能力，我们首先必须检验酶免疫测定法（EIA）用于测定裸鼹鼠尿液和粪便中孕激素和雄激素代谢物浓度的适用性。对先前被确定为分散个体并单独饲养的12只裸鼹鼠（6只雄性和6只雌性）注射生理盐水对照和促性腺激素释放激素（GnRH）。结果显示，尿液可能不是用于定量裸鼹鼠孕激素和雄激素代谢物的理想基质，因为在注射GnRH后该基质中未检测到信号。一种5α - 孕酮EIA和一种表雄酮EIA分别被确定适用于定量雄性和雌性粪便中的孕酮代谢物（fPMs）和粪便雄激素代谢物（fAMs）。结果表明，基线fPM和fAM浓度存在个体差异，在注射GnRH后，6只雌性中只有2只、雄性中无一只的fPM浓度增加超过100%（-20%标准差）。相反，在注射GnRH后，6只雌性中只有4只、6只雄性中有3只的fAM浓度增加超过100%（-20%标准差）。这些结果表明，一些裸鼹鼠个体即使与女王分开，其生殖能力也会降低。
