Comparative sequence analysis of two Methuselah species

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Arne Sahm
• Subject Area: Evolutionary Cell and Developmental Biology (Zoology) ; Bioinformatics and Theoretical Biology ; Biogerontology and Geriatric Medicine
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 548514271

Which genes and signaling pathways are crucial for an exceptionally long life? One approach to answering this question is to study the evolution of extremely long-lived species. In this project, we will focus on two species that have been little studied so far: The first is the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), which is considered to be the longest-lived vertebrate with a lifespan of more than 400 years. Secondly, the olm (Proteus anguinus), which, with a lifespan of more than 100 years and a weight of just a few grams, is one of the strongest known positive outliers in the ratio of lifespan to body mass. We will examine each of these species separately to elucidate their genetic and gene expression differences in comparison to their much shorter-lived close relatives. To carry out these bioinformatic comparisons, the genomes or transcriptomes of the Greenland shark and the olm and their respective closest relatives are required. As the quality of these sequence resources is crucial for the precision and sensitivity of the subsequent comparative analyses, we will first further improve the assemblies and annotations produced in our preliminary work. We will make the resulting sequence resources available to the scientific community, together with web applications such as a genome browser and gene expression atlas. This will provide us and others with a basis for further research into these species and their extraordinary properties. Finally, we will bring together our comparative analyses of the Greenland shark and the olm and combine them with earlier corresponding studies of other extremely long-lived species. We will incorporate analyses published by us and others, e.g. of the naked mole-rat, the great whiskered bat, the bowhead whale, the rock bass, the elephant, the Galapagos giant tortoise, the clownfish, etc. Our meta-analysis of this broad spectrum of species will reveal whether the evolution of extreme lifespans is driven by convergent changes in the same genes or signaling pathways.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants