title: ACTN3 R577X polymorphism and team-sport performance: a study involving three European cohorts.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the association between the α-actinin-3 (ACTN3) R577X polymorphism and elite team-sport athletic status in three cohorts of European team-sport athletes.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared the genotype and allele frequencies of the ACTN3 R577X (rs1815739) polymorphisms between team-sport athletes (n=205), endurance athletes (n=305), sprint/power athletes (n=378), and non-athletic controls (n=568) from Poland, Russia and Spain; all participants were unrelated European men.
  
  
  METHODS
  Genomic DNA was extracted from either buccal epithelium or peripheral blood using a standard protocol. Genotyping was performed using several methods, and the results were replicated following recent recommendations for genotype-phenotype association studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Genotype distributions of all control and athletic groups met Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (all p>0.05). Team-sport athletes were less likely to have the 577RR genotype compared to the 577XX genotype than sprint/power athletes [odds ratio: 0.58, 95% confidence interval: 0.34-0.39, p=0.045]. However, the ACTN3 R577X polymorphism was not associated with team-sports athletic status, compared to endurance athletes and non-athletic controls. Furthermore, no association was observed for any of the genotypes with respect to the level of competition (elite vs. national level).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ACTN3 R577X polymorphism was not associated with team-sport athletic status, compared to endurance athletes and non-athletic controls, and the observation that the 577RR genotype is overrepresented in power/sprint athletes compared with team-sport athletes needs to be confirmed in future studies.
authors.affiliation: School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Victoria University, Australia; Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL), Victoria University, Australia. Electronic address: Nir.Eynon@vu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Nir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Eynon
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL), Victoria University, Australia.
authors.forename: Lauren K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Banting
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education and Sport, School of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Jonatan R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.affiliation: Department of Tourism and Recreation, Academy of Physical Education and Sport in Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: Pawel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cieszczyk
authors.affiliation: Ural State University of Physical Culture, Russia.
authors.forename: Dmitry A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Dyatlov
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Culture and Health Promotion, University of Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maciejewska-Karlowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Culture and Health Promotion, University of Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sawczuk
authors.affiliation: Ural State University of Physical Culture, Russia.
authors.forename: Vladimir P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Pushkarev
authors.affiliation: Ural State University of Physical Culture, Russia.
authors.forename: Leonid M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Kulikov
authors.affiliation: Ural State University of Physical Culture, Russia.
authors.forename: Evgeny D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Pushkarev
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Femia
authors.affiliation: School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Victoria University, Australia; Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL), Victoria University, Australia.
authors.forename: Nigel K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Stepto
authors.affiliation: School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Victoria University, Australia; Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL), Victoria University, Australia.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Bishop
authors.affiliation: Universidad Europea de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lucia
mesh_terms: D000185:Actinin / Q000235:genetics*; D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C118456:ACTN3 protein, human; D000185:Actinin
keywords: ACTN3; Alpha-actinin 3; Athletic performance; Exercise; Genes