DISCUSSION
The genetic and molecular mechanisms by which longevity
evolves remain largely unexplained. Given the declining costs
of DNA sequencing, de novo genome sequencing is rapidly
becoming affordable. The sequencing of genomes of long-lived
species allows comparative genomics to be employed to study
the evolution of longevity and has already provided candidate
genes for further functional studies (de Magalha˜ es and Keane,
2013). Nonetheless, deciphering the genetic basis of species differences
in longevity has major intrinsic challenges (de Magalha˜
es and Keane, 2013), and much work remains to uncover
the underlying mechanisms by which some species live much
longer than others. In this context, studying a species so long
lived and with such an extraordinary resistance to age-related
diseases as the bowhead whale will help elucidate mechanisms
and genes conferring longevity and disease resistance in mammals.
Remarkably, large whales with over 1,000 times more cells
than humans do not exhibit an increased cancer risk (Caulin and
Maley, 2011), suggesting the existence of natural mechanisms
that can suppress cancer more effectively in these animals. Having
the genome sequence of the bowhead whale will allow
researchers to study basic molecular processes and identify
maintenance mechanisms that help preserve life, avoid entropy,
and repair molecular damage. When compared to transcriptome
data (Seim et al., 2014), the genome’s greater completeness and
quality permits additional (e.g., gene loss and duplication) and
more thorough analyses. Besides, whereas the genomes of
many commercially important agricultural species have been reported,
the bowhead genome sequence is the first for a species
key to a subsistence diet of indigenous communities. One of the
outputs of this project will be to facilitate and drive research in
this long-lived species. Data and results from this project are
thus made freely available to the scientific community on an
online portal (http://www.bowhead-whale.org/). We provide