Scientists from Nova Southeastern University’s Shark Research Center and the Guy Harvey Research Institute successfully decoded and mapped the genome of the great white shark.

The joint study, which also included researchers from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, and Monterey Bay Aquarium and published in the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, presents a major advancement in understanding both the biology of the apex predator and sharks in general.

“Decoding the white shark genome is providing science with a new set of keys to unlock lingering mysteries about these feared and misunderstood predators—why sharks have thrived for some 500 million years, longer than almost any vertebrate on earth” said Dr. Salvador Jorgensen, a Senior Research Scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Among their findings, the white shark’s genome was found to one-and-a-half times larger than the human genome. They also discovered adaptive sequence changes in genes intimately tied to DNA repair, DNA damage response, and DNA damage tolerance, which might explain the evolutionary success of large-bodied and long-lived sharks that makes them less susceptible to numerous cancers and age-related diseases.

“Not only were there a surprisingly high number of genome stability genes that contained these adaptive changes, but there was also an enrichment of several of these genes, highlighting the importance of this genetic fine-tuning in the white shark,” director of NSU’s Shark Research Center Mahmood Shivji said. “There’s still tons to be learned from these evolutionary marvels, including information that will potentially be useful to fight cancer and age-related diseases, and improve wound healing treatments in humans, as we uncover how these animals do it.”