Data from: Variation in salivary and pancreatic alpha-amylase genes in Italian horse breeds

The dietary demand of the modern horse relies on high-cereal feeding and limited forage compared with natural grazing conditions, predisposing the horse to several important diseases. Salivary and pancreatic alpha-amylases (coded by AMY1 and AMY2 genes, respectively) play a crucial role in carbohydrate digestion in nonruminants, but little is known about these 2 genes in the horse. Aim of this work has been to distinguish genomic sequences of horse AMY1 and AMY2 genes and to analyze any polymorphisms in breeds historically characterized by marked differences in nutritional management. A single nucleotide polymorphism detection was performed and 7 novel single nucleotide polymorphisms were found. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms are in exons and were genotyped in 112 horses belonging to 6 breeds. One single nucleotide polymorphism in AMY1 gene distinguished Haflinger and the Italian native Murgese from the other breeds, whereas both the single nucleotide polymorphisms in AMY2 gene showed different allelic frequencies in Friesian compared with the other breeds. These differences are confirmed by quite high fixation index (Fst) values for these 2 nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms. These preliminary results highlight marked divergences in allele frequencies of AMY1 and AMY2 genes, involved in starch digestion, between horse breeds characterized by different histories of selection, thus providing first indications of possible relations between genetics and nutritional management.

与自然放牧条件相比，现代马的日粮需求依赖高精粮饲喂与有限饲草，使其易患多种重要疾病。唾液与胰腺α-淀粉酶（分别由AMY1和AMY2基因编码）在非反刍动物的碳水化合物消化中发挥关键作用，但目前对马体内这两种基因的了解甚少。本研究旨在区分马AMY1与AMY2基因的基因组序列，并分析在营养管理历史上差异显著的马品种中的多态性。研究开展了单核苷酸多态性（Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, SNP）检测，共发现7种新型单核苷酸多态性。其中3个位于外显子区域的单核苷酸多态性在涵盖6个品种的112匹马中完成了基因分型。AMY1基因的一处单核苷酸多态性可将哈弗灵马（Haflinger）与意大利本土穆尔盖塞马（Murgese）同其他品种区分开来；而AMY2基因的两处单核苷酸多态性在弗里斯兰马（Friesian）与其他品种间呈现出不同的等位基因频率。这两处错义单核苷酸多态性的固定指数（Fixation Index, Fst）值均较高，证实了上述差异。这些初步结果表明，在经历不同选育历史、营养管理模式各异的马品种之间，参与淀粉消化的AMY1与AMY2基因的等位基因频率存在显著差异，首次为遗传学与营养管理之间的潜在关联提供了依据。