Author: Stephen Johnson / Source: Big Think
- Scientists have mapped the entire genome of the great white shark.
- The team found genetic adaptations that seem to help the fish preserve and repair its genome, clues that may help us better understand why sharks rarely get cancer.
- The team also identified several gene pathways that might also help explain the fish’s extraordinary wound-healing capabilities.
An international team of scientists has decoded the entire genome of the great white shark, an achievement that could help us better fight cancer and learn more about the fish’s extraordinary healing capabilities.
How could the great white shark – an apex predator that can reach 20 feet long and 7,000 pounds – provide humanity with potentially life-saving knowledge about cancer and other diseases? For one, the great white shark is a champion of evolution; its DNA has been fine-tuned by millions of years spent thriving in the world’s oceans with no natural predators. Mapping the great white’s genome could illuminate the keys to this evolutionary success.
The team, which published its findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, compared the great white’s genome to that of humans and other vertebrates. The researchers found patterns of DNA sequence changes that indicated molecular adaptation in genes related to maintaining genome stability, through functions including DNA damage response, DNA repair and DNA damage tolerance – all of which can protect against cancer.
This might explain why sharks rarely suffer from the disease.
“Not only were there a surprisingly high number of genome stability genes that contained these adaptive changes, but there…
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