DOUBLE-MUSCLED ANIMALS

Double-muscled animals are of particular interest to meat producers because they are characterized by an exceptional muscular development and an increased carcass lean to fat ratio. The term is mainly restricted to cattle, but functional mutations in the myostatin gene causing this phenotype are also described in other species. The condition is associated with altered physiological and histological characteristics that bring about not only differences in meat quantity but also in animal performances and in meat quality. Therefore, the exploitation of double muscling has to be considered carefully. This article mainly focuses on observations in cattle.