{
  "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-κB 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 ( N e ) 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.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Aquatic Bioscience, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo",
    "Department of Applied Biochemistry, School of Marine Science, Kitasato University",
    "Department of Polar Science, Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies)",
    "Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor",
    "Research Department, Norwegian Polar Institute, Framsenteret",
    "Center of Biosystems Dynamics Research, RIKEN (Institute of Physical and Chemical Research),",
    "Department of Genetics, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies)",
    "Department of Genomics and Evolutionary Biology, National Institute of Genetics"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 13,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kaiqiao Yang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3012-0279"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kazuya Nishiwaki"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Hideaki Mizobata",
      "orcid": "0009-0007-1791-6903"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jiancheng Liang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shuichi Asakawa",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7599-0825"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Kazutoshi Yoshitake",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8247-9443"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Yuuki Y. Watanabe",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9731-1769"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Nigel Edward Hussey",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9050-6077"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Kit Maureen Kovacs",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5878-4819"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Christian Lydersen",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3868-2345"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Mitsutaka Kadota",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1674-6697"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Shigehiro Kuraku",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1464-8388"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shigeharu Kinoshita",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6458-1487"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/emx32z07wkjye.bib",
  "cited_by": 8,
  "doi": "10.1073/pnas.2601272123",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "emx32z07wkjye",
  "issns": [
    "0027-8424",
    "1091-6490"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2601272123",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2309|Ichthyology and Marine Biology"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7161682766",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13214024",
  "pmid": "42154556",
  "published": "2026-05-19",
  "publisher": "National Academy of Sciences",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/emx32z07wkjye.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T13:21:20Z",
      "native_id": "W7161682766",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2601272123"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2309|Ichthyology and Marine Biology",
      "subfield": "ecology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The Greenland shark genome: Insights into lifespan extremes and population dynamics",
  "title_text": "The Greenland shark genome: Insights into lifespan extremes and population dynamics",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T13:21:20Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/emx32z07wkjye",
  "venue": "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences",
  "versions": []
}