Data from: Long live the queen, the king and the commoner? transcript expression differences between old and young in the termite Cryptotermes secundus

Social insects provide promising new avenues for aging research. Within a
colony, individuals that share the same genetic background can differ in
lifespan by up to two orders of magnitude. Reproducing queens (and in
termites also kings) can live for more than 20 years, extraordinary
lifespans for insects. We studied aging in a termite species, Cryptotermes
secundus, which lives in less socially complex societies with a few
hundred colony members. Reproductives develop from workers which are
totipotent immatures. Comparing transcriptomes of young and old
individuals, we found evidence for aging in reproductives that was
especially associated with DNA and protein damage and the activity of
transposable elements. By contrast, workers seemed to be better protected
against aging. Thus our results differed from those obtained for social
insects that live in more complex societies. Yet, they are in agreement
with lifespan estimates for the study species. Our data are also in line
with expectations from evolutionary theory. For individuals that are able
to reproduce, it predicts that aging should only start after reaching
maturity. As C. secundus workers are immatures with full reproductive
options we expect them to invest into anti-aging processes. Our study
illustrates that the degree of aging can differ between social insects and
that it may be associated with caste-specific opportunities for
reproduction.