Human rRNA gene clusters are recombinational hotspots in cancer.

@article{Stults2009HumanRG,
  title={Human rRNA gene clusters are recombinational hotspots in cancer.},
  author={Dawn Michelle Stults and Michael W Killen and E. P. M. Williamson and Jon S. Hourigan and Hern{\'a}n Vargas and Susanne M. Arnold and Jeffrey A Moscow and Andrew J. Pierce},
  journal={Cancer research},
  year={2009},
  volume={69 23},
  pages={
          9096-104
        }
}
The gene that produces the precursor RNA transcript to the three largest structural rRNA molecules (rDNA) is present in multiple copies and organized into gene clusters. The 10 human rDNA clusters represent <0.5% of the diploid human genome but are critically important for cellular viability. Individual genes within rDNA clusters possess very high levels of sequence identity with respect to each other and are present in high local concentration, making them ideal substrates for genomic… 
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HUMAN RIBOSOMAL RNA GENE CLUSTERS ARE RECOMBINATIONAL HOTSPOTS IN CANCER
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Ribosomal DNA is one of the most variable regions in the human genome with respect to copy number. Despite the importance of rDNA for cellular function, we know virtually nothing about what governs…
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This work addresses nuclear rDNAs in an integrative approach to better assess the complexity of rDNA importance in the evolutionary context and addresses the precursor 45S rDNA in a compositional and evolutionary dynamics viewpoint.
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Yeast strains in which every rDNA repeat unit has lacO or tetO arrays that associate with LacI‐GFP or TetR‐mRFP proteins, respectively, showed that the rDNA actively moved and changed shape at the boundary between the nucleolus and the nucleoplasm.
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Evidence uncovering mechanisms of regulation of instability and copy number variation at the rDNA and their role in adaptation to the environment is reviewed, which could serve to understand the basic principles governing the behavior of other tandem repeats and their roles in shaping the genome.
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