Molecular Cloning and Expression of Taste Receptor Gene T2R1 of Obscure Puffer, Takifugu fasciatus

Obscure puffer, Takifugu fasciatus is a unique species of China which is distributed in the estuary of the Yangtze River, and belongs to the same genus with Red fin puffer T. rubripes which has been used as one of human genome model animal since mid-1990s. In this experiment, we cloned a pair of DNA fragment sequence including complete ORF (921bp) of taste receptor candidate gene T2R1 of T. fasciatus and studied the differential expression spectrum of tissues in combination with bioinformatics analysis so as to understand the possible functions in response to chemical sensation behavior of taste receptors. The receptors when compared with T rubripes, there was 99.2% identity in two kinds ORF sequences, with only 7 bases different, and there were 5 amino acids different between speculated fusion proteins. Under bioinformatics analysis, the T2R1 gene without introns was consistent with the structural domains characteristics of this family genes. The translation protein of T2R1 gene displayed with corresponding signal loci and functional domains of this gene family, and the result showed that the taste receptor translated by T2R1 gene belongs to G protein-coupled receptor super-family. T fasciatus taste receptor T2R1 in various tissues appeared differentially expressed. The results showed T2R1 were expressed in gill, spleen, heart, lips, skin and tongue tissue, suggesting that it is not only act as taste receptors, but also play other possible functions. Furthermore, the cloning and expression analysis of T2R1 provide theoretical basis to further study function of T2R1 for T. fasciatus.