Shark That Can Live 400 Years Reveals Its Secret

Greenland shark genome shows duplicated genes involved in DNA repair
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 24, 2024 1:58 PM CDT
Shark That Can Live 400 Years Reveals Its Secret
This undated photo shows a Greenland shark slowly swimming away from a boat, returning to the deep and cold waters of the Uummannaq Fjord in northwestern Greenland.   (Julius Nielsen via AP)

The Greenland shark is the world's longest-living vertebrate, or animal with a backbone, capable of living a mind-bending 400 years. Now, with the mapping of the shark's genome, the biggest of any shark sequenced to date, researchers say they've unlocked potential secrets to the animal's longevity that might eventually help humans fight cancer. The nearly complete genome, accounting for 92% of the shark's DNA, features 70% jumping genes or transposable elements that move from one location on the genome to another, per IFL Science. Essentially "genomic parasites," these genes often disrupt normal gene function, leading to disease or developmental issues, reports the New York Times. Just apparently not in Greenland sharks.

The research team, made up of scientists from the US and Europe, suspects the shark has evolved to take advantage of jumping genes, allowing other beneficial genes "to commandeer the molecular machinery they use to multiply," IFL Science explains. This theory is based on the finding that a network of 81 duplicated genes involved in repairing DNA damage, a hallmark of aging, lurk within the shark's 6.5 billion DNA base pairs. "We found that genes specifically duplicated in the Greenland shark form a functionally connected network enriched for DNA repair function," according to the study published as a preprint in bioRxiv. This "could play an important role in [the shark's] extreme longevity," says lead author Arne Sahm of the Leibniz Institute on Aging.

Discussing the research at the Society of Experimental Biology Conference in July, team members said they found no change in enzyme activity in the 23 sharks sampled, who ranged in age from 60 to 200 years old, suggesting the Greenland shark's metabolism doesn't degrade over time as in most other animals, as Live Science reported. The preprint study notes the gene TP53, "implicated in DNA repair and tumor suppression," is "at the heart" of the shark's duplicated gene network, the Times reports. As the gene is mutated in roughly 50% of human cancers, experts say further studies of the shark could lead to human cancer therapies or new avenues of prevention. (More sharks stories.)

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