Comparative genomic analysis of the mouse and rat amylase multigene family

AbstractThe rat and mouse amylase gene families were characterized using sequence data from the UCSC genome assembly. We found that the rat genome contains one amylase-1 and two amylase-2 genes, lying close to one another on the same chromosome. Detailed analysis revealed at least six additional amylase pseudogenes in the rat genome in the region adjacent to the amylase-2 genes. In contrast, the mouse has one amylase-1 gene and five amylase-2 genes; the latter are tandemly and systematically arranged on the same chromosome and were generated by segmental duplication. Detailed analysis revealed that the mouse has two amylase pseudogenes, located 5′ to the five amylase-2 segments. Thus, the amylase genes of mouse and rat tend to be amplified; the sequences of some of them are fixed while others have become pseudogenes during evolution. This is the second report of amylase genomic organization in mammals and the first in the rodents