Candidate genes associated with athletes' skeletal muscle functions regulation

Abstract

It is generally recognized that an elite athlete's status is a multifactorial phenotype depending on many environmental and genetic factors. Variations in the sequence of nucleotides in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), in particular, single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) act as key internal factors associated with achieving high results in sports. The determination of specific individuals' genetic characteristics allows us to identify athletes who have the greatest genetically determined potential for certain sports that require speed, strength or endurance manifestation. Of course, peculiarities of the structure and function of skeletal muscles are among the most important characteristics in sports results context, in sports associated with the development of power / strength or endurance phenotypes. The composition and function of skeletal muscles are controlled by many different genes, and their SNVs can serve as strength or endurance athletes' status biomarkers. (1) Background: to conduct a thematic review of candidate genes studies and their single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) associated with the functioning of skeletal muscles in athletes. (2) Methods: A search for articles for the period from 2010 to 2020 was conducted in the databases SCOPUS, Web of Science, Google Calendar, Clinical keys, PubMed, e-LIBRARY using keywords and their combinations; (3) Conclusions: The identification of genetic biomarkers associated with muscular system regulation can help neurologists, sports doctors and coaches in developing personalized strategies for selecting children, adolescents and young adults for endurance, strength and speed sports (for example, running short, medium or long distances). Such a personalized approach will increase sports performance and reduce the risk of sports injuries of the musculoskeletal system.