A 78-kilobase region of mouse chromosome 3 contains salivary and pancreatic amylase genes and a pseudogene.

Genetic studies have demonstrated that salivary and pancreatic amylase genes are closely linked in human and mouse. To analyze the arrangement of genes within the amylase cluster, a library of YBR mouse genomic DNA was cloned in the cosmid vector pJB8. Clones containing amylase genes were identified by hybridization with amylase cDNA probes. Salivary and pancreatic amylase genes were isolated on separate cosmid clones, but no overlapping clones were evident from the initial screening. A strategy for the rapid isolation of terminal noncoding fragments from the cosmid clones was developed. By using these terminal fragments for chromosome "walking," a map of 78 kilobases of the amylase gene region was constructed. The salivary and pancreatic amylase genes are present within this region in the same 5'-to-3' orientation, separated by 22 kilobases of genomic DNA. A truncated amylase pseudogene is located 10 kilobases downstream from the pancreatic amylase gene.