Go for the Gold in Family Fun this Summer!

A few years ago, I had some genetic testing done that uncovered something you might not suspect just by looking at me: I have one copy of the “Olympic Sprinter Gene.”

So as the games of the 31st Olympiad begin this week, I feel a stronger bond with those athletes than ever before, brimming as I am with untapped potential. :-)

But this week also marks the start of “Family Fun Month.”

You probably…

Recently, I submitted my DNA data for analysis to see what it might tell me about my health and fitness. I had taken an AncestryDNA test a while back as part of my genealogy research and I found out that you can download your raw data from Ancestry.com and other DNA testing services and submit it for analysis to see what influence your DNA might have on your health. If you haven’t had your DNA tested, you can do this for around $100 at Ancestry.com, FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe, and other services.

I submitted my raw DNA data to two different websites for analysis, Promethease and Athletigen. Promethease can analyze data from Ancestry, FamilyTreeDNA, and 23andMe, as well as other DNA testing services. They charge a $5 fee and the results are available in about 15 minutes. The anonymous report is available to you online for 45 days and you can download it for future reference.

The report from Promethease is very detailed. My report covered a total of over 13,000 single nucleotide polymorphism or SNP’s. SNP’s are DNA sequence variations. Of these, Promethease indicated that about 1500 were “good” and about 250 were “bad”, based on DNA research results. The rest were neutral. 

The significance of “good” and “bad” results varied. Some signals were quite strong and well documented by research studies, others were not. I used the control panel in the Promethease report to filter my results to only show those with a magnitude of 2 or higher on a scale of 0-10, which Promethease equates to “looks interesting enough to be worth reading”.

One of the results that was interesting to me was that I have the ACTN3 “sprinter” gene (C,C) variation that has been found to be present in virtually all Olympic sprinters. This was a bit of a surprise, since I don’t view myself as a sprinter. I’ve always competed in middle to long distance events, from the mile to the marathon. In high school, I sometime ran in 4x440 relay events, but that was the shortest event that I ran in. 

While the Promethease report is very detailed, it is somewhat difficult to understand. It provides direct links to SPNpedia, which contains detailed scientific information on each SNP variation. Here’s the entry for ACTN3, for example:

http://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Rs1815739

Athletigen gave me a clearer picture of how my genes influence my training and racing. Athletigen produces a nicely formatted report with results that are written in plain English and it is focused on those few genes that are known to influence sports performance. If you have already had your DNA analyzed, Athletigen is free. 

Here’s an example of what they say about the ACTN3 gene:

“The CC and CT genotypes are more likely to be present in elite power athletes than the TT genotype. The ACTN3 protein is important for fast-twitch muscle fibers and explosive power performance. Many studies have shown that possessing at least one functional copy of the ACTN3 gene (CC or CT genotypes) is important for sprint/power performance; however, some well known exceptional TT individuals exist. The T allele results in a shortened, nonfunctional version of the ACTN3 protein. There is some weak evidence of enhanced endurance performance in TT individuals but data is conflicting. ACTN3 is perhaps the best known and well studied of the various ‘sports’ genes and is sometimes called the ‘sprint gene’.” - Source, Athletigen.com

If you don’t have the “sprinter” gene, it’s not a disaster. You may be genetically better suited for endurance events. It’s also important to remember that while virtually all elite sprinters have the ACTN3 variation, it is also present in about 37% of the global population. Having it doesn’t guarantee that you will be an Olympic sprinter, but not having it may prevent you from becoming an elite competitor in sprint events, where fractions of a second determine the outcome of a race.