Concerted copy number variation balances ribosomal DNA dosage in human and mouse genomes

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1416878112
• Publication Date: 2015-01-13T05:47:29Z
• Authors: John G. Gibbons; Alan T. Branco; Susana A. Godinho; Shoukai Yu; Bernardo Lemos
• Keywords: Concerted evolution

Significance Ribosomes are essential intracellular machines composed of proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA sequences [i.e., ribosomal (rDNA)] encoding rRNAs tandemly repeated give rise to the nucleolus. transcribed from two array kinds (the 5S 45S arrays). Here we show that variation in rDNA arrays is tightly coupled, despite their location on different chromosomes. Our observations suggest natural selection contributes maintain balanced dosage across unlinked arrays. Finally, bisphenol A can induce parallel loss units These raise prospect human diseases might be traced disrupted balance genome.