Roles of the ribosomal RNA gene to maintain genome stability

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The genes encoding ribosomal RNA are the most abundant genes in the eukaryotic genome. They reside in tandem repetitive clusters, in some cases totaling hundreds of copies. Due to their repetitive structure, the ribosomal RNA gene repeats are some of the most fragile sites in the chromosome. The unusual nature of ribosomal RNA gene repeats affects cellular functions. In this study, we established a system in which rDNA stability is artificially manipulated and found that rDNA stability affects the yeast lifespan. In addition, we found that the copy number determines sensitivity to DNA damage, especially, non-transcibed copies function as "foothold" for repair enzymes. Moreover, repeat length affect the chromosome segregation rate.