Does DNA Mold Outstanding Athletes
Tuesday, December 9, 2008, by Asha Herreros
Basketball is going genetic?! There was an interesting article Born to Run? Little Ones Get Test for Sports Gene written by Juliet Macur and published in New York times on November 29, 2008. Yes, they found a gene which makes a kid pre-determined for certain sports. Nobody else but researchers from Australia that sports-obsessed nation. To be a bit sarcastic here: maybe it will help the Aussies establish themselves as a serious basketball nation. More genetic research and it may help them even reach the semis in the Olympics.
Those scientists looked at the gene’s combinations, one copy provided by each parent. The R variant of ACTN3 instructs the body to produce a protein, alpha-actinin-3, found specifically in fast-twitch muscles. Those muscles are capable of the forceful, quick contractions necessary in speed and power sports. The X variant prevents production of the protein.
Before you know it, a company was established to sell kits to parents of toddlers so they can determine if their little Jessica will become a soccer superstar or the track prodigy.
In health-conscious, sports-oriented Boulder, Atlas Sports Genetics is playing into the obsessions of parents by offering a $149 test that aims to predict a child’s natural athletic strengths. The process is simple. Swab inside the child’s cheek and along the gums to collect DNA and return it to a lab for analysis of ACTN3, one gene among more than 20,000 in the human genome.
The test’s goal is to determine whether a person would be best at speed and power sports like sprinting or football, or endurance sports like distance running, or a combination of the two. A 2003 study discovered the link between ACTN3 and those athletic abilities.
There are doubters, though, and they come from academic circles.
Some experts say ACTN3 testing is in its infancy and virtually useless. Dr. Theodore Friedmann, the director of the University of California-San Diego Medical Center’s interdepartmental gene therapy program, called it “an opportunity to sell new versions of snake oil.”
Dr. Stephen M. Roth, director of the functional genomics laboratory at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health, says: “The idea that it will be one or two genes that are contributing to the Michael Phelpses or the Usain Bolts of the world I think is shortsighted because it’s much more complex than that,” he said, adding that athletic performance has been found to be affected by at least 200 genes.
Original research, done by the Aussies, was done on a large sample of PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES. Wait a second! These are people who already went through rigorous training and a multitude of factors.
The ACTN3 study looked at 429 elite white athletes, including 50 Olympians, , and found that 50 percent of the 107 sprint athletes had two copies of the R variant. Even more telling, no female elite sprinter had two copies of the X variant. All male Olympians in power sports had at least one copy of the R variant.
It’s all cozy in scientific circles so far, but they couldn’t explain the exception. This Spaniard decided to jump long despite the fact he lacks the right genes. This is where the story becomes interesting to me. How do you beat the odds working against you?
Research on an Olympic long jumper from Spain showed that he had no copies of the R variant, indicating that athletic success is probably affected by a combination of genes as well as factors like environment, training, nutrition and luck.
At least one scientist would prefer us to rely on common sense to determine potentially good athletes among kids. Hey, how about line them up and have them race.
Dr. Foster suggested another way to determine if a child will be good at sprint and power sports. “Just line them up with their classmates for a race and see which ones are the fastest,” he said.
Kevin Reilly, the president of Atlas Sports Genetics and a former weight-lifting coach, expected the test to be controversial. He said some people were concerned that it would cause “a rebirth of eugenics, similar to what Hitler did in trying to create this race of perfect athletes.”
He also said they should hold off on placing a child in a competitive environment until about the age of 8 to avoid burnout.
Boyd Epley, a former strength and conditioning coach at the University of Nebraska, said the next step would be a physical test he devised. Atlas plans to direct children to Epic Athletic Performance, a talent identification company that uses Mr. Epley’s index. He founded the company; Mr. Reilly is its president.
The ACTN3 test has been available through the Australian company Genetic Technologies since 2004. The company has marketed the test in Australia, Europe and Japan, but is now entering the United States through Atlas. The testing kit was scheduled to be available starting Monday through the Web site atlasgene.com.
The analysis takes two to three weeks, and the results arrive in the form of a certificate announcing Your Genetic Advantage, whether it is in sprint, power and strength sports; endurance sports; or activity sports (for those with one copy of each variant, and perhaps a combination of strengths). A packet of educational information suggests sports that are most appropriate and what paths to follow so the child reaches his or her potential
DNA Test and Talent Identification, by Brian McCormick (he also publishes at Train for Hoops and Associated Content)
Basically, the test apparently measures the body’s ability to produce the effects which lead to the develop of fast-twitch muscle fiber.
The athletes who reach an elite level, however undergo years of training and experience which influences their development. These factors determine an athlete’s potential success as much as a player’s genetic make-up.
Talent development is a multi-faceted process. The DNA test is not the answer. Every study suggests that talent develops; it is not born.
On average each person has an even percentage of each fiber type but Olympic sprinters tend to have around 80% fast twitch fibers. Conversely, Olympic marathon runners tend to have around 80% slow twitch. There is controversy whether training may alter the percentage of fiber type percentage over time.
ACTN3 Variants and Athletic Performance, reviewed by Cynthia Moore and Muin J. Khoury
The 2002 Update of the Human Gene Map for Performance and Health-related Fitness Phenotypes reports 92 genes and quantitative trait loci (90 on the autosomes, 2 on the X chromosome) and 14 mitochrondrial genes shown to be related to physical performance of health-related phenotypes in at least one study.
Although interesting, the findings from this study are subject to limitations and are certainly not sufficient to assume a causal relation or warrant predictive testing.
Assuming that the distribution of types of athletes in this study is representative of any population of elite athletes, the clinical validity of the test can be estimated. The sensitivity for determining either type of athletic ability is less than 50%.
Investigation of the association of this genetic variant and its interaction with other genes and environmental factors needs to be done in well-controlled studies. Even if the findings reported by Yang and colleagues are validated in further studies, a thorough assessment of the benefit(s) of the test as well as the ethical, legal, and social implications of it use need to be addressed before the test is marketed to the consumer.
After studying hundreds of athletes, scientists came to the conclusion that it is probably impossible for someone who lacks the ACTN3 protein to reach the top levels of performance in power sports.
They were soon proven wrong. While looking for other genes that might determine athletic ability, a Spanish scientist hit upon an exception to the rule: a champion long jumper who has two non-working copies of ACTN3.
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