MOLECULAR-CLONING OF A WIDELY EXPRESSED HUMAN HOMOLOG FOR THE DROSOPHILA TRP GENE

The Drosophila transient receptor potential (trp) gene and its homolog ue, trpl, have been suggested to mediate calcium entry during the inse ct's phototransduction process. We isolated a human cDNA, human trp-1 (Htrp-1), encoding a polypeptide of 793 amino acids that is 37% identi cal (62% similar) to Drosophila trp and trpl, Northern analysis showed that the Htrp-1 transcript is approximately 5.5 kb and expressed in m ost human tissues, with higher amounts in ovary, testis, heart, and br ain, Isolation of Htrp-1 suggests that a tip-type protein is present i n mammals and should provide a useful tool in studying calcium-depleti on induced calcium influx processes.