ACTN3 R577X polymorphism and explosive leg-muscle power in elite basketball players

To determine the association of the ACTN3 R577X polymorphism with leg-muscle explosive power in Spanish (white) elite basketball players and controls.

100 (60 men) elite basketball players (cases) and 283 nonathletic controls.

The authors assessed power performance by means of the vertical-squat and countermovement-jump tests.

Genotype distributions did not differ between groups (cases: 37.0% [RR], 42.0% [RX], and 21.0% [XX]; controls: 31.8% [RR], 49.8% [RX], and 18.4% [XX]; P = .353). The authors did not observe any effect of the ACTN3 R577X polymorphism on study phenotypes in either group, including when they performed the analyses separately in men and women. They found no association between the ACTN3 R577X polymorphism and the likelihood of being an elite basketball player using the dominant or the recessive model, and the results remained unaltered when the analyses were adjusted for sex, weight, height, and age or when performed for men and women separately.

Although the ACTN3 R577X is associated with explosive muscle performance and this phenotype is important in the sport of basketball (ie, during jumps), the authors found no association with leg explosive power in elite basket players or with the status of being this type of athlete.