Given the higher quality of this more recent genome annotation, we assessed whether we could identify novel candidate genes in the NMR that were not detected by Kim et al. In particular, because p53 substitutions identical to those found in human tumours have been identified in the related blind mole rat Spalax ehrenbergi (Ashur-Fabian et al., 2004), it is relevant to assess whether there is any evidence of adaptive evolution in NMR p53. This evidence concerns the gene TP53 and neoplasm.