This gene encodes a member of a family of candidatetaste receptors that are members of theG protein-coupled receptor superfamily and that are specifically expressed by taste receptor cells of the tongue and palate epithelia. These apparently intronless taste receptor genes encode a 7-transmembrane receptor protein, functioning as a bitter taste receptor. This gene is clustered with another 3 candidate taste receptor genes in chromosome 7 and is genetically linked to loci that influence bitter perception.[5]
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