Association between ACTN3 R577x and the physical performance of Chinese 13 to 15-year-old elite and sub-elite football players at different positions

Shidong Yang; Wentao Lin; Mengmeng Jia; Haichun Chen

doi:10.3389/fgene.2023.1038075

Association between ACTN3 R577x and the physical performance of Chinese 13 to 15-year-old elite and sub-elite football players at different positions

Front Genet. 2023 Mar 10:14:1038075. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1038075. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Shidong Yang^{1

2}, Wentao Lin³, Mengmeng Jia², Haichun Chen²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Education, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Najing, Jiangsu, China.
² School of Physical Education and Sport Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China.
³ Department of Physical Education, Zhuhai University of Science and Technology, Zhuhai, Guangdong, China.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of ACTN3 polymorphisms in Chinese elite and sub-elite football players aged 13-15 years at different positions. Specifically we explored whether ACTN3 genotypes were linked with athletic performance of elite and sub-elite players at different positions. The RR genotype frequency of elite defenders (p = 0.018) and midfielders (p = 0.008) was significantly higher than that of sub-elite XX genotype in elite players. Furthermore, the R allele frequency of elite defenders (p = 0.003) and midfielders (p = 0.008) was significantly higher than that of sub-elite players. In all subjects, RR players performed faster and exhibited more explosive power than RX or XX players. RR, RX and XX elite players' 20 m/30 m sprint, 5 × 25-m repeated sprint ability (5 × 25 m RSA), and standing long jump were stronger than sub-elite players, but there was no significant different in aerobic endurance between elite and sub-elite players at different positions. In conclusion, there were significant differences in ACTN3 genotypes and alleles between elite and sub-elite players at different positions, and the RR genotype was significantly associated with power-related athletic performance in Chinese youth football players.

Keywords: A-actinin-3; elite youth football players; genotype and allele frequencies; physical performance; players’ positions.