The genetic profile of elite youth soccer players and its association with power and speed depends on maturity status

PLoS One. 2020 Jun 22;15(6):e0234458. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234458. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

We investigated the association of multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with athlete status and power/speed performance in elite male youth soccer players (ESP) and control participants (CON) at different stages of maturity. ESP (n = 535; aged 8-23 years) and CON (n = 151; aged 9-26 years) were genotyped for 10 SNPs and grouped according to years from predicted peak-height-velocity (PHV), i.e. pre- or post-PHV, to determine maturity status. Participants performed bilateral vertical countermovement jumps, bilateral horizontal-forward countermovement jumps, 20m sprints and modified 505-agility tests. Compared to CON, pre-PHV ESP demonstrated a higher ACTN3 (rs1815739) XX ('endurance') genotype frequency distribution, while post-PHV ESP revealed a higher frequency distribution of the PPARA (rs4253778) C-allele, AGT (rs699) GG genotype and NOS3 (rs2070744) T-allele ('power' genotypes/alleles). BDNF (rs6265) CC, COL5A1 (rs12722) CC and NOS3 TT homozygotes sprinted quicker than A-allele carriers, CT heterozygotes and CC homozygotes, respectively. COL2A1 (rs2070739) CC and AMPD1 (rs17602729) GG homozygotes sprinted faster than their respective minor allele carrier counterparts in CON and pre-PHV ESP, respectively. BDNF CC homozygotes jumped further than T-allele carriers, while ESP COL5A1 CC homozygotes jumped higher than TT homozygotes. To conclude, we have shown for the first time that pre- and post-PHV ESP have distinct genetic profiles, with pre-PHV ESP more suited for endurance, and post-PHV ESP for power and speed (the latter phenotypes being crucial attributes for post-PHV ESP). We have also demonstrated that power, acceleration and sprint performance were associated with five SNPs, both individually and in combination, possibly by influencing muscle size and neuromuscular activation.

MeSH terms

  • Acceleration
  • Actinin / genetics
  • Adolescent
  • Athletes*
  • Athletic Performance / physiology*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Child
  • Collagen Type II / genetics
  • Collagen Type V / genetics
  • Gene Frequency
  • Genetic Profile*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Muscle Strength / genetics
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
  • Running / physiology
  • Sexual Maturation / physiology*
  • Soccer*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • ACTN3 protein, human
  • COL2A1 protein, human
  • COL5A1 protein, human
  • Collagen Type II
  • Collagen Type V
  • Actinin

Grants and funding

We declare that seven co-authors are employed by commercial companies: Liverpool Football Club (AM), Club Atlético Peñarol (ER, SR, SM, GH), Defensor Sporting Club (GL) and the Premier League (AOB). However, these companies only provided support in the form of salaries for authors AM, ER, SR, GL, SM, GH and AOB, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.