Taste Receptor Type 2 Member 50 (TAS2R50)

TAS2R50 belongs to the large TAS2R receptor family. TAS2Rs are expressed on the surface of taste receptor cells and mediate the perception of bitterness through a G protein-coupled second messenger pathway .By screening the human genome for sequences related to TAS2Rs, Conte et al. (2002) cloned TAS2R50, which they called TAS2R51.The deduced 299-amino acid protein contains the 7-transmembrane structure and short N- and C-terminal domains conserved in TAS2Rs. The intracellular domains share significant conservation with other TAS2R family members.By somatic cell hybrid and genomic sequence analyses, Conte et al. (2002) mapped the TAS2R50 gene to a 1.2-Mb TAS2R gene cluster on chromosome 12p.