Human Gene TAS2R38 (ENST00000547270.1) from GENCODE V44
Description: Homo sapiens taste 2 receptor member 38 (TAS2R38), mRNA. (from RefSeq NM_176817) RefSeq Summary (NM_176817): This gene encodes a seven-transmembrane G protein-coupled receptor that controls the ability to taste glucosinolates, a family of bitter-tasting compounds found in plants of the Brassica sp. Synthetic compounds phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) have been identified as ligands for this receptor and have been used to test the genetic diversity of this gene. Although several allelic forms of this gene have been identified worldwide, there are two predominant common forms (taster and non-taster) found outside of Africa. These alleles differ at three nucleotide positions resulting in amino acid changes in the protein (A49P, A262V, and V296I) with the amino acid combination PAV identifying the taster variant (and AVI identifying the non-taster variant). [provided by RefSeq, Oct 2009]. Sequence Note: This RefSeq represents the non-taster AVI allele which is defined by polymorphic variation at three positions (A49P, A262V, and V296I). Gencode Transcript: ENST00000547270.1 Gencode Gene: ENSG00000257138.1 Transcript (Including UTRs) Position: hg38 chr7:141,972,631-141,973,773 Size: 1,143 Total Exon Count: 1 Strand: - Coding Region Position: hg38 chr7:141,972,688-141,973,689 Size: 1,002 Coding Exon Count: 1
ID:T2R38_HUMAN DESCRIPTION: RecName: Full=Taste receptor type 2 member 38; Short=T2R38; AltName: Full=PTC bitter taste receptor; AltName: Full=Taste receptor type 2 member 61; Short=T2R61; FUNCTION: Receptor that may play a role in the perception of bitterness and is gustducin-linked. May play a role in sensing the chemical composition of the gastrointestinal content. The activity of this receptor may stimulate alpha gustducin, mediate PLC-beta-2 activation and lead to the gating of TRPM5 (By similarity). SUBCELLULAR LOCATION: Membrane; Multi-pass membrane protein. TISSUE SPECIFICITY: Expressed in subsets of taste receptor cells of the tongue and exclusively in gustducin-positive cells. POLYMORPHISM: Variations in TAS2R38 are associated with the ability to taste phenylthiocarbamide (PTC tasting) [MIM:171200]; also called thiourea tasting. The ability to taste the substance PTC and a number of related substances is genetically controlled. Genetic studies have demonstrated complex inheritance for this trait. For some people (and some chimpanzees also), the chemical PTC tastes very bitter. For others, it is tasteless. Actually, substantial variation in taste sensitivity exists in human. Five haplotypes arising from three coding SNPs in the TAS2R38 gene are associated with distinct phenotypes of PTC taste sensitivity. MISCELLANEOUS: Most taste cells may be activated by a limited number of bitter compounds; individual taste cells can discriminate among bitter stimuli. SIMILARITY: Belongs to the G-protein coupled receptor T2R family. WEB RESOURCE: Name=Protein Spotlight; Note=A tail of protection - Issue 119 of July 2010; URL="http://web.expasy.org/spotlight/back_issues/sptlt119.shtml";
The RNAfold program from the Vienna RNA Package is used to perform the secondary structure predictions and folding calculations. The estimated folding energy is in kcal/mol. The more negative the energy, the more secondary structure the RNA is likely to have.
Pfam Domains: PF05296 - Taste receptor protein (TAS2R)
ModBase Predicted Comparative 3D Structure on P59533
Front
Top
Side
The pictures above may be empty if there is no ModBase structure for the protein. The ModBase structure frequently covers just a fragment of the protein. You may be asked to log onto ModBase the first time you click on the pictures. It is simplest after logging in to just click on the picture again to get to the specific info on that model.
Orthologous Genes in Other Species
Orthologies between human, mouse, and rat are computed by taking the best BLASTP hit, and filtering out non-syntenic hits. For more distant species reciprocal-best BLASTP hits are used. Note that the absence of an ortholog in the table below may reflect incomplete annotations in the other species rather than a true absence of the orthologous gene.
Biological Process: GO:0001580 detection of chemical stimulus involved in sensory perception of bitter taste GO:0007165 signal transduction GO:0007186 G-protein coupled receptor signaling pathway GO:0050896 response to stimulus GO:0050909 sensory perception of taste
US Server
Sequence and Links to Tools and Databases 
Microarray Expression Data 
