Genetic profiles to identify talents in elite endurance athletes and professional football players

PLoS One. 2022 Sep 16;17(9):e0274880. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274880. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

The genetic profile that is needed to identify talents has been studied extensively in recent years. The main objective of this investigation was to approach, for the first time, the study of genetic variants in several polygenic profiles and their role in elite endurance and professional football performance by comparing the allelic and genotypic frequencies to the non-athlete population. In this study, genotypic and allelic frequencies were determined in 452 subjects: 292 professional athletes (160 elite endurance athletes and 132 professional football players) and 160 non-athlete subjects. Genotyping of polymorphisms in liver metabolisers (CYP2D6, GSTM1, GSTP and GSTT), iron metabolism and energy efficiency (HFE, AMPD1 and PGC1a), cardiorespiratory fitness (ACE, NOS3, ADRA2A, ADRB2 and BDKRB2) and muscle injuries (ACE, ACTN3, AMPD1, CKM and MLCK) was performed by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Single Nucleotide Primer Extension (PCR-SNPE). The combination of the polymorphisms for the "optimal" polygenic profile was quantified using the genotype score (GS) and total genotype score (TGS). Statistical differences were found in the genetic distributions between professional athletes and the non-athlete population in liver metabolism, iron metabolism and energy efficiency, and muscle injuries (p<0.001). The binary logistic regression model showed a favourable OR (odds ratio) of being a professional athlete against a non-athlete in liver metabolism (OR: 1.96; 95% CI: 1.28-3.01; p = 0.002), iron metabolism and energy efficiency (OR: 2.21; 95% CI: 1.42-3.43; p < 0.001), and muscle injuries (OR: 2.70; 95% CI: 1.75-4.16; p < 0.001) in the polymorphisms studied. Genetic distribution in professional athletes as regards endurance (professional cyclists and elite runners) and professional football players shows genetic selection in these sports disciplines.

MeSH terms

  • Actinin / genetics
  • Athletes*
  • Cytochrome P-450 CYP2D6 / genetics
  • Football
  • Genetic Profile
  • Humans
  • Iron
  • Nucleotides
  • Physical Endurance* / genetics

Substances

  • ACTN3 protein, human
  • Nucleotides
  • Actinin
  • Iron
  • Cytochrome P-450 CYP2D6

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grant from the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (UFV) through the project “Genetic profile of elite and high-performance Caucasian athletes; comparison between endurance, power sports and non-athlete population” (UFV2020-18) (DV-D). The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Funder web site: UFV: https://www.ufv.es/.