Methods and compositions for regulating body weight in bovine species

摘要

The present invention provides the bovine melanocortin 4 receptor protein (MC4-R), peptide and polypeptide fragments thereof, as well as nucleic acids encoding these molecules. Also provided are recombinant vectors comprising these nucleic acids, and recombinant host cells containing such vectors. Also provided are methods for identifying selective agonists and antagonists of bovine MC4-R, compounds that modulate the activity or expression of the bovine MC4-R, and methods for modifying body weight in bovine animals utilizing the bovine MC4-R as the target for intervention.