Patent ID: 7799905

Claim:
An isolated or recombinant nucleic acid encoding a taste receptor polypeptide selected from the following: (a) an isolated or recombinant nucleic acid encoding for a human taste receptor polypeptide having the amino acid sequence in SEQ. ID. NO: 17 or a nucleic acid sequence encoding at least the extracellular or transmembrane domains thereof; (b) an isolated or recombinant human genomic nucleic acid sequence that specifically hybridizes to the complement of the nucleic acid sequence contained in SEQ. ID. NO: 15 or 16 under stringent hybridization conditions which are 50% formamide, 5×SSC and 1% SDS, incubating at 65 degrees C.; with wash in 0.2×SSC and 0.1% SDS at 65 degrees C. and which genomic nucleic acid sequence encodes a human taste receptor polypeptide that specifically binds to at least one taste modulatory compound which specifically binds to the taste receptor polypeptide in SEQ ID NO:17; and (c) an isolated or recombinant nucleic acid that encodes a taste receptor polypeptide which possesses at least 90% sequence identity to the polypeptide in SEQ. ID. NO:17 or a nucleic acid sequence encoding at least the extracellular or transmembrane domains thereof and which taste receptor polypeptide specifically binds to at least one taste modulatory compound which specifically binds to the human taste receptor polypeptide in SEQ ID NO:17.