Naked Mole Rats

Naked Mole Rats: A Unique Model for Auditory Research

Naked mole rats are fascinating creatures that live in complex underground burrow systems. Even more remarkably, they exhibit exceptional longevity and resistance to age-related diseases that commonly affect other species.

Our interest in these extraordinary animals began with a curiosity about differences in ion channel expression in the Naked mole rat auditory system compared to their more commonly studied rodent relatives, such as mice. This initial question evolved into an international collaboration exploring the molecular, anatomical, and evolutionary aspects of Naked mole rat hearing.

What We’ve Discovered

Our research has confirmed that Naked mole rats have comparatively poor peripheral hearing. We have also documented differences in the neuroanatomical organization of their peripheral auditory system. But most notably, we discovered that the sensory hair cell tip-link proteins in Naked mole rats possess amino acid substitutions that are associated with nonsyndromic hearing loss in both humans and mice. However, rather than being “degenerative”, these mutations appear to be adaptive, suggesting that Naked mole rats have adapted their auditory system to their unique subterranean lifestyle.

Why It Matters

This discovery challenges previous debates on whether Naked mole rat hearing is simply degenerate or functionally adapted. Our findings position them as an intriguing and unique model for investigating auditory function from molecular, anatomical, functional, and evolutionary perspectives.

And we’re just getting started—many more experiments are planned for these remarkable animals!

Learn More

For more details, check out our publications:

The crucial role of diverse animal models to investigate cochlear aging and hearing loss. Castaño-González K, Köppl C, Pyott SJ. Hear Res. 2024 [Link]

The naked truth: a comprehensive clarification and classification of current ‘myths’ in naked mole-rat biology. Buffenstein R, Amoroso V, Andziak B, Avdieiev S, Azpurua J, Barker AJ, Bennett NC, Brieño-Enríquez MA, Bronner GN, Coen C, Delaney MA, Dengler-Crish CM, Edrey YH, Faulkes CG, Frankel D, Friedlander G, Gibney PA, Gorbunova V, Hine C, Holmes MM, Jarvis JUM, Kawamura Y, Kutsukake N, Kenyon C, Khaled WT, Kikusui T, Kissil J, Lagestee S, Larson J, Lauer A, Lavrenchenko LA, Lee A, Levitt JB, Lewin GR, Lewis Hardell KN, Lin TD, Mason MJ, McCloskey D, McMahon M, Miura K, Mogi K, Narayan V, O’Connor TP, Okanoya K, O’Riain MJ, Park TJ, Place NJ, Podshivalova K, Pamenter ME, Pyott SJ, Reznick J, Ruby JG, Salmon AB, Santos-Sacchi J, Sarko DK, Seluanov A, Shepard A, Smith M, Storey KB, Tian X, Vice EN, Viltard M, Watarai A, Wywial E, Yamakawa M, Zemlemerova ED, Zions M, Smith ESJ. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2022 [Link]

Hearing and Vocalizations in the Naked Mole-Rat. Barker AJ, Koch U, Lewin GR, Pyott SJ. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2021 [Link]

Functional, Morphological, and Evolutionary Characterization of Hearing in Subterranean, Eusocial African Mole-Rats. Pyott SJ*, van Tuinen M, Screven LA, Schrode KM, Bai JP, Barone CM, Price SD, Lysakowski A, Sanderford M, Kumar S, Santos-Sacchi J, Lauer AM, Park TJ. *First and senior author. Curr Biol. 2020 [Link]

Altered cochlear innervation in developing and mature naked and Damaraland mole rats. Barone CM, Douma S, Reijntjes DOJ, Browe BM, Köppl C, Klump G, Park TJ, Pyott SJ. J Comp Neurol. 2019 [Link]