Greenland Sharks Can Live for 400 Years. Scientists Are Using DNA to Unravel Their Longevity Secrets

Greenland sharks are large, mysterious creatures that roam the chilly waters of the north Atlantic and Arctic oceans. These elusive animals are considered the longest-living vertebrates on the planet, and they can survive to be roughly 400 years old.

But how and why do Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) live to such an advanced age? For a long time, scientists thought it had to do with their cold habitat and minimal movements. But now, new research is using the sharks’ DNA to unravel the mysteries of their impressive lifespans.

While sequencing a Greenland shark’s genome, researchers in Japan discovered multiple copies of genes that might help explain why the animals don’t often get cancer, reports New Scientist’s Chris Simms. They outlined their findings in a new paper published February 22 on the bioRxiv preprint server. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

The genes in question influence what’s known as the NF-κB signaling pathway, which supports the body’s immune system and regulates inflammation. When the pathway is disrupted, pathogens and tumor cells are able to flourish, suggesting it plays an important role in an animal’s overall health and well-being.

Copies of these specific genes are “significantly increased” in Greenland sharks compared to other, shorter-lived shark species, the researchers write in the paper.

“Since immune responses, inflammation and tumor formation significantly affect aging and lifespan, the increase in genes involved in NF-κB signaling might be related to the Greenland shark’s longevity,” study co-author Shigeharu Kinoshita, a researcher at the University of Tokyo, tells New Scientist.

Greenland sharks are not the only creatures in the sea with a high number of genes related to the NF-κB signaling pathway, per New Scientist. Another long-living animal, the red sea urchin, also has multiple copies of the genes linked to this pathway, recent research shows. Red sea urchins (Mesocentrotus franciscanus) can live to be more than 100 years old.

Other researchers sequencing the Greenland shark’s genome recently found another hint to their superpower: multiple copies of 81 genes involved in DNA repair. In particular, they found that the sharks carried an altered version of the TP53 gene, which helps suppress tumors and repair DNA. Those findings, published in a preprint paper in September, suggest the Greenland shark’s TP53 mutation may also play a role in the species’ longevity, though more research is needed to know for sure.

Humans will likely never live as long as the Greenland shark. But we might one day benefit from the insights scientists glean from studying the creatures.

“These are animals that live longer than human beings, and they do this in the wild, without medicines or hospitals or health care,” João Pedro de Magalhães, a molecular biogerontologist at the University of Birmingham in England who was not involved with either of the recent Greenland shark studies, told the New York Times’ Jonathan Moens in September.

Understanding the genetic mechanisms at play in Greenland sharks could eventually lead to advancements in human medicine, such as new pharmaceuticals or gene therapies to promote healthy aging.

“The goal isn’t to make people live longer, the goal is to keep people healthier for longer,” says Paul Robbins, a molecular biologist at the University of Minnesota who was not involved with the new studies, to National Geographic’s Jude Coleman.

Moving forward, scientists hope to continue studying Greenland sharks to learn even more about their unusually long lives. Some researchers will keep investigating their genome, while others are exploring the species’ metabolism, heart, behavior and ecology, per the New York Times. They might even be able to compare the Greenland shark’s genome to the genomes of other long-lived species, such as the bowhead whale.

“Aging is an incredibly complex system, and we still don’t have a definitive answer to how exactly it works,” Ewan Camplisson, a shark researcher at the University of Manchester in England who studies Greenland shark metabolism, told Business Insider’s Jenny McGrath in July 2024.