Non-invasive techniques for exact phenotypic assessment of carcass composition and tissue growth in domestic animals : Invited lecture

The present review paper deals with the advances in exact phenotyping of domestic animals regarding carcass composition and the changes in tissue proportions during growth. The development of non-invasive methods such as computer tomography (CT), dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is presented, especially in relation to recent investigations of genetic aspects of growth. Supported by various bio-statistical approaches that can manage huge amount of data, such research could enable better understanding of complex phenotypic traits like changes in body composition during growth.