PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kevin L. Lu
AU  - Jonathan O. Nelson
AU  - Natalie Warsinger-Pepe
AU  - Yukiko M. Yamashita
TI  - Transgenerational dynamics of rDNA copy number in <em>Drosophila</em> male germline stem cells
AID  - 10.1101/199679
DP  - 2017 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 199679
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/10/07/199679.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/10/07/199679.full
AB  - rDNA loci, composed of hundreds of tandemly duplicated arrays of rRNA genes, are known to be among the most unstable genetic elements due to their repetitive nature. rDNA instability underlies aging (replicative senescence) in yeast cells, however, its contribution to the aging of multicellular organisms is poorly understood. In this study, we investigate the dynamics of rDNA loci during aging in the Drosophila male germline stem cell (GSC) lineage, and show that rDNA copy number decreases during aging. Our study further reveals that this age-dependent decrease in rDNA copy number is heritable from generation to generation, yet GSCs in animals that inherit reduced rDNA copy number are capable of recovering normal rDNA copy number. Based on these findings, we propose that rDNA loci are dynamic genetic elements, where rDNA copy number changes dynamically yet is maintained through a recovery mechanism in the germline.