microCT for Systematic Mouse Phenotyping

Phenotyping of mouse mutants is one of the crucial methods for uncovering genetic network at the level of a whole organism which could help us to understand origin of rare diseases, developmental malformations, but also the process of mammalian evolution. For studying morphological aspects of either embryos or adults, the X-ray computed microtomography (microCT) has become a gold standard within the last years. The three-dimensional (3D) context, availability of data to additional analysis (e.g. volumetric, bone density, or body composition), and in-vivo approaches in the case of adults are the main advantages when compared to classic histology and bone morphology. On the other hand, the amount of data is enormous making the data storage and analysis the bottle-neck of the microCT method. To overcome this obstacle, we cooperate with bioinformatics experts to set up automation of the process at maximal possible level. Nevertheless, knowledge and experience of a specialist remain indispensable.