G Protein Gamma 13 (GNg13)

GNG13 is a gamma subunit that is expressed in taste, retinal, and neuronal tissues and plays a key role in taste transduction.By genomic sequence analysis, they identified a human EST containing GNG13. The deduced 67-amino acid GNG13 protein has a calculated molecular mass of 7.9 kD and shares about 96% sequence identity with mouse Gng13.

Low-level expression of a 6.2-kb transcript was also seen in brain. Northern blot analysis of mouse tissues detected a 0.5-kb transcript in brain, retina, and olfactory epithelium, with lower expression in stomach and testis. Transcripts of 2.1 and 4.8 kb were also detected in olfactory epithelium and cerebellum. In situ hybridization of mouse circumvallate papillae showed expression in taste receptor cells.