Guest Talk

(Diese Veranstaltung ist auf Englisch)

We are delighted to announce our next guest talk.

„A queen odour mediates reproductive suppression in a eusocial mammal“

Dr. Mohammed Khallaf, Postdoc in Lewin Lab, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin

Abstract

Eusociality is a hallmark of social evolution but is exceptionally rare in mammals. Naked mole-rats exemplify this system, with reproduction confined to a single queen while subordinates remain infertile. We identify a queen-derived olfactory signal that elevates prolactin, suppresses subordinate reproduction, and maintains social stability. Withdrawal of the signal rapidly triggers aggression and reproductive competition, underscoring its causal role in colony cohesion. This provides the first evidence that a single chemical cue can enforce reproductive suppression in a mammal, revealing a conserved strategy linking insect and mammalian eusociality.

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