Among black garden ants (Lasius niger), the lifespan of queens is an order of magnitude greater than that of workers despite no systematic nucleotide sequence difference between them. The SOD3 gene was found to be the most differentially over-expressed gene in the brains of queen vs worker ants. This finding raises the possibility that SOD3 antioxidant activity plays a key role in the striking longevity of social insect queens.
12Lucas ER, Keller L. Elevated expression of ageing and immunity genes in queens of the black garden ant. Exp Gerontol. 2018 Jul 15;108:92-98. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2018.03.020. Epub 2018 Apr 3. PMID 29625209
Further reading
Zelko IN, Mariani TJ, Folz RJ (August 2002). "Superoxide dismutase multigene family: a comparison of the CuZn-SOD (SOD1), Mn-SOD (SOD2), and EC-SOD (SOD3) gene structures, evolution, and expression". Free Radical Biology & Medicine. 33 (3): 337–49. doi:10.1016/S0891-5849(02)00905-X. PMID12126755.
Adachi T, Ohta H, Yamada H, Futenma A, Kato K, Hirano K (November 1992). "Quantitative analysis of extracellular-superoxide dismutase in serum and urine by ELISA with monoclonal antibody". Clinica Chimica Acta; International Journal of Clinical Chemistry. 212 (3): 89–102. doi:10.1016/0009-8981(92)90176-Q. PMID1477980.
Adachi T, Ohta H, Hayashi K, Hirano K, Marklund SL (September 1992). "The site of nonenzymic glycation of human extracellular-superoxide dismutase in vitro". Free Radical Biology & Medicine. 13 (3): 205–10. doi:10.1016/0891-5849(92)90016-A. PMID1505778.
Yamamoto M, Hara H, Adachi T (August 2002). "The expression of extracellular-superoxide dismutase is increased by lysophosphatidylcholine in human monocytic U937 cells". Atherosclerosis. 163 (2): 223–8. doi:10.1016/S0021-9150(02)00007-2. PMID12052468.