Dogs' Starch-Digesting Evolution

Modern dogs, descendants of wolves, are surprisingly adept at digesting starch thanks to a genetic adaptation: they have many more copies of the AMY2B gene-which codes for pancreatic amylase-than wolves do. Whereas wolves typically carry just two copies, dogs can have anywhere from 4 up to 30 (or even more), with an average around 10, and some breeds like the Tazi carrying up to 22 copies; this expanded copy number boosts starch?digesting enzyme levels and allowed dogs to thrive on human agricultural diets.

Previous Fact Next Fact