Sports genes
Meta-analysis linked the effectiveness of sports training with the genotype
Anastasia Kuznetsova-Fantoni, N+1
A meta-analysis of 24 papers showed that from 10 to 72 percent of the differences in the response to exercise in different people are determined by genetic characteristics. The effectiveness of training is influenced by polymorphisms of muscle protein genes and genes regulating mitochondrial function and metabolism. The authors of the meta-analysis believe that the results of their work can be used to develop individual training programs. The study is published in PLoS One (Chung et al., Do exercise-associated genes explain phenotypic variation in the three components of fitness? a systematic review & meta-analysis).
Many people exercise to improve their endurance, strength or in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, but not everyone gets visible results equally quickly. About 80 percent of the differences in the success of training, scientists explain the genetic characteristics of the body. At the same time, training programs do not take into account differences in the genome of people and therefore are not effective for everyone. Biologists have already found individual genes that determine a person's physical development, but these studies were scattered, and only a few candidate genes were studied in each of them.
In order to summarize the work of colleagues and identify genes whose polymorphisms affect the success of sports training, researchers led by Dan A. Gordon from the University of Cambridge conducted a meta-analysis of 24 papers: a total of 3012 people participated in them. Scientists have found 13 genes that are associated with three indicators of physical development: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle strength, and anaerobic capacity.
Cardiorespiratory endurance (that is, the body's ability to withstand prolonged physical exertion) is influenced by genes regulating blood pressure (ACE), metabolism (PGC1-alpha, AMPK, PFKM), as well as genes encoding muscle proteins (ACTN3), the researchers calculated that up to 44 percent of the difference with which people react to exercises for cardiorespiratory endurance, depends on the genetics of a person.
Muscle strength turned out to be even more dependent on the genetic component: its contribution was 72 percent. The genes associated with muscle strength encode muscle proteins (ACTN3), and also regulate cell growth and development (mTOR, AKT1).
At the same time, the success of anaerobic exercises (high-intensity and short-term loads) depends much less on genetics: in this case, the researchers found a 10 percent contribution of the genotype. It is associated with polymorphisms of genes that determine the function of mitochondria (CS, PGC1-alpha, HADH).
The authors believe that these results can be used in the future to develop individual training programs based on the human genotype. This will optimize the exercises and get good results in a short time.
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