title: Reproduction is associated with a tissue-dependent reduction of oxidative stress in eusocial female Damaraland mole-rats (Fukomys damarensis).
abstract: Oxidative stress has been implicated as both a physiological cost of reproduction and a driving force on an animal's lifespan. Since increased reproductive effort is generally linked with a reduction in survival, it has been proposed that oxidative stress may influence this relationship. Support for this hypothesis is inconsistent, but this may, in part, be due to the type of tissues that have been analyzed. In Damaraland mole-rats the sole reproducing female in the colony is also the longest lived. Therefore, if oxidative stress does impact the trade-off between reproduction and survival in general, this species may possess some form of enhanced defense. We assessed this relationship by comparing markers of oxidative damage (malondialdehyde, MDA; protein carbonyls, PC) and antioxidants (total antioxidant capacity, TAC; superoxide dismutase, SOD) in various tissues including plasma, erythrocytes, heart, liver, kidney and skeletal muscle between wild-caught reproductive and non-reproductive female Damaraland mole-rats. Reproductive females exhibited significantly lower levels of PC across all tissues, and lower levels of MDA in heart, kidney and liver relative to non-reproductive females. Levels of TAC and SOD did not differ significantly according to reproductive state. The reduction in oxidative damage in breeding females may be attributable to the unusual social structure of this species, as similar relationships have been observed between reproductive and non-reproductive eusocial insects.
authors: Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
authors: Christina M
authors: CM
authors: Schmidt
authors: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom.
authors: Jonathan D
authors: JD
authors: Blount
authors: Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
authors: Nigel C
authors: NC
authors: Bennett
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D019577:Mole Rats; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000502:physiology*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D050050:Protein Carbonylation; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*; D012931:Social Environment; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase