Genetic Factors of Elite Wrestling Status: A Multi-Ethnic Comparative Study.

Kozuma, A, Bulgay, C ORCID: 0000-0003-4026-9883, Zempo, H ORCID: 0000-0003-2248-8580, Saito, M, Deguchi, M, Homma, H, Matsumoto, S, Matsumoto, R, Kasakolu, A, Kazan, HH ORCID: 0000-0001-7936-8606, Bıyıklı, T, Koncagül, S, Baydaş, G, Ergun, MA ORCID: 0000-0001-9696-0433, Szabo, A ORCID: 0000-0003-2788-4304, Semenova, EA ORCID: 0000-0003-1248-2855, Larin, AK ORCID: 0000-0002-9429-792X, Kulemin, NA, Generozov, EV ORCID: 0000-0002-6314-4883, Okamoto, T et al (2025) Genetic Factors of Elite Wrestling Status: A Multi-Ethnic Comparative Study. Genes, 16 (8). p. 906. ISSN 2073-4425

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: In recent years, comprehensive analyses using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) have been conducted to identify genetic factors related to athletic performance. In this study, we investigated the association between genetic variants and elite wrestling status across multiple ethnic groups using a genome-wide genotyping approach. METHODS: This study included 168 elite wrestlers (64 Japanese, 67 Turkish, and 36 Russian), all of whom had competed in international tournaments, including the Olympic Games. Control groups consisted of 306 Japanese, 137 Turkish, and 173 Russian individuals without elite athletic backgrounds. We performed a GWAS comparing allele frequencies of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between elite wrestlers and controls in each ethnic cohort. Cross-population analysis comprised (1) identifying SNPs with nominal significance (p < 0.05) in all three groups, then (2) meta-analyzing overlapped SNPs to assess effect consistency and combined significance. Finally, we investigated whether the most significant SNPs were associated with gene expression in skeletal muscle in 23 physically active men. RESULTS: The GWAS identified 328,388 (Japanese), 23,932 (Turkish), and 30,385 (Russian) SNPs reaching nominal significance. Meta-analysis revealed that the ATP2A3 rs6502758 and UNC5C rs265061 polymorphisms were associated (p < 0.0001) with elite wrestling status across all three populations. Both variants are located in intronic regions and influence the expression of their respective genes in skeletal muscle. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to investigate gene polymorphisms associated with elite wrestling status in a multi-ethnic cohort. ATP2A3 rs6502758 and UNC5C rs265061 polymorphisms may represent important genetic factors associated with achieving an elite status in wrestling, irrespective of ethnicity.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	athlete status; comprehensive analysis; gene expression; genome-wide association study; genotype; skeletal muscle; talent; Humans; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Male; Genome-Wide Association Study; Wrestling; Gene Frequency; Athletic Performance; Adult; Ethnicity; Young Adult; Turkey; Athletes; Muscle, Skeletal; 31 Biological Sciences; 3105 Genetics; Genetics; Human Genome; 0604 Genetics; 3105 Genetics
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine
Divisions:	Sport and Exercise Sciences
Publisher:	MDPI
Date of acceptance:	28 July 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	11 September 2025
Date Deposited:	11 Sep 2025 10:47
Last Modified:	11 Sep 2025 11:00
DOI or ID number:	10.3390/genes16080906
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27139

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