This gene encodes a member of a family of candidate taste receptors that are members of the G 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. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008],function:Gustducin-coupled receptor implicated in the perception of bitter compounds in the oral cavity and the gastrointestinal tract. Signals through PLCB2 and the calcium-regulated cation channel TRPM5.,miscellaneous:Several bitter taste receptors are expressed in a single taste receptor cell.,similarity:Belongs to the G-protein coupled receptor T2R family.,tissue specificity:Expressed in subsets of taste receptor cells of the tongue and palate epithelium and exclusively in gustducin-positive cells. Expressed in the antrum and fundus (part of the stomach), duodenum and in gastric endocrine cells.,