GOAT could modify ghrelin ser3 with fatty acids up to tetradecanoic acid. Replacement of his338 of GOAT with ala completely abolished the ability of GOAT to octanoylate ghrelin.mouse Goat octanoylated ghrelin (GHRL), a 28-amino acid appetite-stimulating peptide hormone, following cotransfection of Goat and preproghrelin in cultured endocrine cell lines. Mutation analysis showed that Goat octanoylated ghrelin on ser3, a modification required for its endocrine effects. Asp307 and his338 of Goat were required for octanoylation.The mouse and human proteins both contain 435 amino acids and have 8 putative transmembrane segments and conserved catalytic asparagine and histidine residues. Semiquantitative PCR of mouse tissues detected highest Goat expression in stomach, with lower expression in small intestine, colon, and testis.