SOD1 and bacterial infectious disease: In the same context, our observations of increased oxidative stress and apoptotic cell death in Cr(VI) exposed He-Gal4>UAS-Sod RNAi strain along with poor resistance displayed by these organisms against bacterial infection validates our hypothesis of protective role of SOD on cellular immune response of exposed Drosophila. In parallel, similar levels of metal intake in the hemocytes of exposed organism irrespective of strain difference indicate that the observed pattern is independent of strain variation.