What does ACTN3 tell us about a person’s athletic ability? A research conducted by Yang at al. (2003) shows that there is indeed a link between the ACTN3 gene and the performance trait that accounts for speed and endurance in sporting activities. This variation determines the type of athlete that an individual was born to be. Elite sportspeople with this gene are associated with distinct muscle strengths and extra ordinary sprint abilities when compared to the rest of the population. The endurance level is strongly linked with the concentration of 577RX in a person’s genes and as such, the frequency of this allele affects the performance of male and female athletes differently. The presence of the ACTN3 genotype in sprint and endurance athletes provides a good demonstration of how the 577RX varies in the general population. The polymorphism of these genes therefore affect the functionality of the skeletal muscle by enabling it to generate forceful contractions at high velocities.
Which factors affect an individual’s human physical performance? Both hereditary and environmental factors play a significant role as far as the athletic capability of an individual is concerned. It is, however, imperative to note that these factors operate together meaning that environmental aspects cannot portray all phenotypic traits. The physical performance of an individual also varies with their sexual orientation because the muscular response of males is different from that of females. The development of phenotypes and their role in boosting physical performance is greatly influenced by hereditary genetic factors. Modern molecular techniques have been used to illustrate the functionality of the entire human genome in an attempt to understand how these prominent genotypes are passed on from one generation to another ( Santos et al., 2016 ).
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References
Santos, C. G. M., Pimentel‐Coelho, P. M., Budowle, B., Moura‐Neto, R. S., Dornelas‐Ribeiro, M., Pompeu, F. A. M. S., & Silva, R. (2016). The heritable path of human physical performance: from single polymorphisms to the “next generation”. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports , 26 (6), 600-612.
Yang, N., MacArthur, D. G., Gulbin, J. P., Hahn, A. G., Beggs, A. H., Easteal, S., & North, K. (2003). ACTN3 genotype is associated with human elite athletic performance. The American Journal of human genetics , 73 (3), 627-631.
