The Greenland shark genome: insights into deep-sea ecology and lifespan extremes

Abstract

The Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) is known for its slow metabolism and deep-sea habitat. It is considered the longest-lived vertebrate on Earth, with an estimated lifespan of 392{+/-}120 years. Despite its remarkable longevity and lifestyle, there have been no genomic studies on this species. Here, we report the first, chromosome-level assembly of the Greenland shark genome, which is 5.9 Gb in size with an N50 length of 233 Mb, and contains 37,125 predicted genes with a completeness score of 86.5%. We found that the copy numbers of three gene families (TNF, TLR, LRRFIP), which are involved in activating the NF-{kappa}B signaling pathway, are significantly increased in the Greenland shark compared to short-lived shark species. In the rhodopsin of this deep-sea dweller, we detected amino acid substitutions that result in spectral tuning for the so-called blue shift, suggesting adaptive evolution to dim-light vision. We also elucidate the dynamics of the effective population size (Ne) of the Greenland shark and its close relative, the Pacific sleeper shark (Somniosus pacificus). These genomic analyses offer new insights into the molecular basis of the exceptional longevity of the Greenland shark and highlight potential genetic mechanisms that could inform future research into longevity.