GPCRs are described as seven-transmembrane receptors that mediate ligand-induced signaling through intracellular G proteins. The review focuses on their unusual tendency to have intronless coding regions in mammals.
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G-protein-coupled receptor family
Candidate: concept label1 source documents7 linked claims
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GPCRs, G protein-coupled receptors
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The absence of introns in human GPCR coding regions contrasts with other human gene classes and other cell-surface receptor classes, which more often contain multiple introns.
Mammalian GPCR genes are largely intronless, whereas Caenorhabditis elegans GPCR genes are intron-rich.
Although intronless genes might be expected to support efficient expression, the review argues that expression efficiency alone is unlikely to fully explain why mammalian GPCRs are predominantly intronless.
More than 90% of surveyed human and other mammalian GPCR genes are intronless in their open reading frame.
GPCR genes are suggested to be enriched in GC-rich genomic regions, which may favor retroviral integration and lower intron content.
Reverse transcription and retrotransposition are proposed as plausible mechanisms contributing to the generation of intronless mammalian GPCR genes.
Mammalian olfactory GPCR genes are presented as archetypal outcomes of reverse transcription coupled with gene duplication.