Low mutation rate in epaulette sharks is consistent with a slow rate of evolution in sharks

Ashley T. Sendell-Price, Frank J. Tulenko, Mats Pettersson, Du Kang, Margo Montandon, Sylke Winkler, Kathleen Kulb, Gavin P. Naylor, Adam Phillippy, Olivier Fedrigo, Jacquelyn Mountcastle, Jennifer R. Balacco, Amalia Dutra, Rebecca E. Dale, Bettina Haase, Erich D. Jarvis, Gene Myers, Shawn M. Burgess (), Peter D. Currie (), Leif Andersson () and Manfred Schartl ()
Additional contact information
Ashley T. Sendell-Price: Uppsala University
Frank J. Tulenko: Monash University
Mats Pettersson: Uppsala University
Du Kang: Texas State University
Margo Montandon: Monash University
Sylke Winkler: Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
Kathleen Kulb: Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
Gavin P. Naylor: University of Florida
Adam Phillippy: National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health Bethesda
Olivier Fedrigo: Rockefeller University
Jacquelyn Mountcastle: Duke University
Jennifer R. Balacco: Duke University
Amalia Dutra: National Institutes of Health Bethesda
Rebecca E. Dale: Monash University
Bettina Haase: Rockefeller University
Erich D. Jarvis: Rockefeller University
Gene Myers: Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
Shawn M. Burgess: National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health Bethesda
Peter D. Currie: Monash University
Leif Andersson: Uppsala University
Manfred Schartl: University of Würzburg

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Sharks occupy diverse ecological niches and play critical roles in marine ecosystems, often acting as apex predators. They are considered a slow-evolving lineage and have been suggested to exhibit exceptionally low cancer rates. These two features could be explained by a low nuclear mutation rate. Here, we provide a direct estimate of the nuclear mutation rate in the epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum). We generate a high-quality reference genome, and resequence the whole genomes of parents and nine offspring to detect de novo mutations. Using stringent criteria, we estimate a mutation rate of 7×10−10 per base pair, per generation. This represents one of the lowest directly estimated mutation rates for any vertebrate clade, indicating that this basal vertebrate group is indeed a slowly evolving lineage whose ability to restore genetic diversity following a sustained population bottleneck may be hampered by a low mutation rate.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42238-x

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