Can genes predict athletic

performance?
By Scientific American, adapted by Newsela staff on 04.29.20
Word Count 479
Level 650L

Scientists have made discoveries that suggest some athletic ability might be genetic, but there's still many
questions left to answer. Photo: Pexels

Do your genes affect how well you play sports? Genes are patterns of DNA that
tell our bodies how to grow and work. It is like a set of instructions for every
living thing. DNA is passed from parents to children.

Genes control everything in your body. They control things like your eye color
and height. Scientists think that genes may also play a role in athletic ability. But
there are many questions left to answer.

Stephen Roth is a scientist in Maryland. He teaches about exercise science and

genetics. We asked him questions about genes and the link to athletic
performance.

How much do genes affect athletic ability?

Nobody knows for sure. It's very hard to measure sports performance with
numbers. For example, it's hard to measure how genes will affect a person's
football performance. Most studies look at how much a gene might affect muscle
strength. This is easier to measure.

Genes are linked to different athletic factors. Some genes affect muscle strength.
But other genes affect how well your body delivers oxygen to your muscles.
Scientists have to study lots of genes.

How many genes play a role in sports talent?

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We do not know. I work with other scientists who study these genes. Every few
years, we make a list of the genes we have studied. We have recorded 200 genes
that have some relationship with athletic abilities. But every human has more
than 20,000 genes in total. So we're only scratching the surface.

Are there specific genes that are related to fitness?

A gene called ACTN3 tells your body how to make a muscle protein. Some
people don't have ACTN3. Their muscles won't work as well. Studies show that
this will prevent them from being star athletes. But scientists don't know why.

Another gene is called ACE. It could affect your endurance. This is how long you
can keep going at a sport before your muscles get tired. Scientists are still trying
to figure out if ACE is important. It plays a smaller role than scientists first
thought.

What can tests that check for ACTN3 tell us?

Some companies sell saliva tests. The test looks for combinations of the ACTN3
gene. The results can tell you whether you have a specific protein in your
muscle.

But the results are not that helpful. So far, scientists know that the gene affects
sports performance in the very best athletes. For example, professional athletes
without ACTN3 might not run as fast as other athletes. But the results do not tell
scientists about sports performance in other people. For instance, it does not tell
you how well kids can play sports.

There are a few problems with the way that people are using these genetic tests.
For example, some parents use them to select which sports they want their
children to play in advance.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.