摘要：The purpose of this study was to identify the genotype and allele distribution of ACTN3 and ACE genes in professional soccer players and to compare its distribution to the general population. Forty male professional players of a Brazilian first division soccer team participated in this study. The subjects’ blood samples were drawn from an antecubital arm vein. Genomic DNA was extracted from leukocytes using the salting-out technique. ACTN3 and ACE polymorphism was determined by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). With regards to the ACTN3 R3557X gene of soccer player frequency distributions, the genotype RX(50%)>RR(45%)>XX(5%) and the allele R(70%)>X(30%). As to the ACE I/D gene distribution, the genotype ID(57.5%)>DD(30%)>II(12.5%) and allele D(58.8%)>I (41.2%). The soccer player genotype and allele frequencies were not different from the control groups. In conclusion, our data indicate that ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D are not the best genetic marker for identifying a talented soccer player. Nevertheless, these results suggest that men who have the combination of both genotypes ‘ACTN3 RX’ and ‘ACE ID’ in these two different genes are more likely to be a professional soccer player when compared to other genotype combinations.
