A recent study on the genetics of obesity found novel variants in the MC4R gene promoter region in a population of obese children. To characterize the functional roles of these naturally-occurring DNA mutations, the researchers used GenScript's mutagenesis service to produce variant constructs for reporter gene assays. They found the mutant promoters have decreased basal transcriptional activity, suggesting that MC4R may be a valuable diagnostic or therapeutic target in future efforts to combat the raging epidemic of obesity-related disease.



With advances in genome sequencing and personalized medicine, it's more critical than ever to understand how genetic variants actually influence physiology and disease etiology. GenScript is the leading provider of custom molecular biology services to accelerate your findings by delivering the DNA constructs you need, without the limitations and headaches of traditional PCR-based manipulation of pre-existing templates.