Jacobs, Paul JuanHart, Daniel WilliamMerchant, Hana N.Voigt, CorneliaBennett, Nigel Charles2023-09-202023-09-202023-07Jacobs, P.J.; Hart, D.W.; Merchant, H.N.; Voigt, C.; Bennett, N.C. 'The Evolution and Ecology of Oxidative and Antioxidant Status: A Comparative Approach in African Mole-Rats. Antioxidants' 2023, 12, 1486. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox12081486.2076-3921 (online)10.3390/antiox12081486http://hdl.handle.net/2263/92328DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : Data are contained within the article or Supplementary Materials.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS: FILE S1: The family of Bathyergidae, their distribution, their life history, reproductive structure, reproductive suppression and oxidative ecology; FILE S2: Data.The naked mole-rat of the family Bathyergidae has been the showpiece for ageing research as they contradict the traditional understanding of the oxidative stress theory of ageing. Some other bathyergids also possess increased lifespans, but there has been a remarkable lack of comparison between species within the family Bathyergidae. This study set out to investigate how plasma oxidative markers (total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and the oxidative stress index (OSI)) differ between five species and three subspecies of bathyergids, differing in their maximum lifespan potential (MLSP), resting metabolic rate, aridity index (AI), and sociality. We also investigated how oxidative markers may differ between captive and wild-caught mole-rats. Our results reveal that increased TOS, TAC, and OSI are associated with increased MLSP. This pattern is more prevalent in the social-living species than the solitary-living species. We also found that oxidative variables decreased with an increasing AI and that wild-caught individuals typically have higher antioxidants. We speculate that the correlation between higher oxidative markers and MLSP is due to the hypoxia-tolerance of the mole-rats investigated. Hormesis (the biphasic response to oxidative stress promoting protection) is a likely mechanism behind the increased oxidative markers observed and promotes longevity in some members of the Bathyergidae family.en© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Oxidative stressOxidative statusLongevityAgeingMaximum lifespan potentialSocialityMetabolismAridityAntioxidantsReactive oxygen speciesAfrican mole-rats (Bathyergidae)SDG-03: Good health and well-beingTotal oxidant status (TOS)Total antioxidant capacity (TAC)Oxidative stress index (OSI)Maximum lifespan potential (MLSP)Article