Ma. Hoon et al., Putative mammalian taste receptors: A class of taste-specific GPCRs with distinct topographic selectivity, CELL, 96(4), 1999, pp. 541-551
Taste represents a major form of sensory input in the animal kingdom. In ma
mmals, taste perception begins with the recognition of tastant molecules by
unknown membrane receptors localized on the apical surface of receptor cel
ls of the tongue and palate epithelium. We report the cloning and character
ization of two novel seven-transmembrane domain proteins expressed in topog
raphically distinct subpopulations of taste receptor cells and taste buds.
These proteins are specifically localized to the taste pore and are members
of a new group of G protein-coupled receptors distantly related to putativ
e mammalian pheromone receptors. We propose that these genes encode taste r
eceptors.