science
Molecule from naked mole rat queen stops other females from breeding and halts succession fights
@NewScientist reported that experiments identified isopropyl myristate as the compound released only by queens. Daily application prevented pregnancies and succession fights while removal triggered rapid competition and breeding.
Jul 19, 6:40 PM·1m read1 source
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A single molecule released by the queen of naked mole rat colonies prevents other females from breeding and stops high-ranking females from fighting for succession. The compound, isopropyl myristate, is produced only by queens in their reproductive organs. Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center sprayed the molecule daily into cages holding male and female pairs.
None of the females became pregnant. When a queen was removed and isopropyl myristate was applied daily for three months, no fights for succession occurred and no females bred.
Stopping the applications led high-ranking females to fight within one week, with one becoming pregnant around three weeks later. Exposure altered levels of progesterone and prolactin. The molecule is volatile enough to spread through air yet persists for at least a day, matching observations that queens patrol colonies that can extend three kilometres underground.
Highly ranked females avoided locations containing the scent while lower-ranked animals did not. The compound was absent from solitary mole rat species but present in several social species. It is widely used in cosmetics and was previously detected in secretions from pregnant and postpartum women, according to a 2008 study.
The study was published in Nature with DOI 10.1038/s41586-026-10772-5.
