• Question: Is there an answer to why the naked mole rat is wrinkly? I think it was on a David Attenborough documentary, but is there something to do with naked mole rats possessing the ability of not ageing/ showing signs of age?

    Asked by to Ben on 19 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Ben White

      Ben White answered on 19 Jun 2014:

      Hi @eleanor2511, good questions and I still need to watch the documentary.

      It’s interesting also as the naked mole rats’ cousin, the common mole rat, has full fur: http://tinyurl.com/mo3nc9l

      Naked mole rats do have a small amount of fur, in the form of whiskers on their face and hair in their mouths (to stop dirt getting in), but the rest of their body is well, naked.

      While I’m not sure what genes are involved, this is probably something to do with the gene Lhx2 and a few others controlling the stem cells in the naked mole rats’ fair follicles. There are however advantages to being hairless…
      Without fur you’re less likely to get parasites, as they don’t have anywhere warm and moist to hide on you.
      As the burrows the naked mole rats live in underground are very warm, there’s no need to have fur for extra insulation- they’re also almost cold blooded like lizard and will huddle together if they need warmth.

Comments

  • Photo: Ben

    Ben commented on :

    I’ll also add to my reply above that I think their wrinkles are due to them having generally quite saggy skin that lacks an insulating layer. This may help them with sliding around their tunnels.

    Their longevity is very exciting for us to research, as it could help us better understand how to treat age related diseases and cancers. While it’s debated what the cause of this is, and it’s probably due to many different things, it’s thought that the naked mole rats metabolism and ability to remove free radicals play an important role in their long life times and slow of aging.