The Greenland shark genome: Insights into lifespan extremes and population dynamics
8 affiliations
- 1Department of Aquatic Bioscience, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo
- 2Department of Applied Biochemistry, School of Marine Science, Kitasato University
- 3Department of Polar Science, Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies)
- 4Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor
- 5Research Department, Norwegian Polar Institute, Framsenteret
- 6Center of Biosystems Dynamics Research, RIKEN (Institute of Physical and Chemical Research),
- 7Department of Genetics, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies)
- 8Department of Genomics and Evolutionary Biology, National Institute of Genetics
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.
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BibTeX
@article{yang2026greenland,
title = {{The Greenland shark genome: Insights into lifespan extremes and population dynamics}},
author = {Kaiqiao Yang and Kazuya Nishiwaki and Hideaki Mizobata and Jiancheng Liang and Shuichi Asakawa and Kazutoshi Yoshitake and Yuuki Y. Watanabe and Nigel Edward Hussey and Kit Maureen Kovacs and Christian Lydersen and Mitsutaka Kadota and Shigehiro Kuraku and Shigeharu Kinoshita},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = may,
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2601272123},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2601272123},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Greenland shark genome: Insights into lifespan extremes and population dynamics
AU - Kaiqiao Yang
AU - Kazuya Nishiwaki
AU - Hideaki Mizobata
AU - Jiancheng Liang
AU - Shuichi Asakawa
AU - Kazutoshi Yoshitake
AU - Yuuki Y. Watanabe
AU - Nigel Edward Hussey
AU - Kit Maureen Kovacs
AU - Christian Lydersen
AU - Mitsutaka Kadota
AU - Shigehiro Kuraku
AU - Shigeharu Kinoshita
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/19
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DO - 10.1073/pnas.2601272123
UR - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2601272123
AB - 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.
SN - 0027-8424
SN - 1091-6490
ER -