Structural organization and chromosomal location of the chicken α-amylase gene family

Characterization of the Gallus gallus α-amylase gene family revealed that the chicken genome contains two distinct amy loci. One of the two loci is expressed in the chicken pancreas while cDNA clones for the second locus were detected in a library constructed from liver mRNA. Fluorescent in situ hybridization to chromosome spreads showed that the two loci are both located on chromosome 8 within the chicken genome. Moreover, each locus contains both an intact, expressed gene copy as well as a pseudogene. The expressed gene and the pseudogene are arranged in a divergent configuration in the pancreatic amy locus, while in the hepatic locus the intact gene and the pseudogene are arranged in tandem. The data suggest a complex pattern of evolution for the chicken amylase gene family which includes multiple gene duplication events, insertion/deletion events, as well as changes in spatial expression patterns.